The End to Civilization
by breather89
Summary: Disaster has struck Britain. A virus has broken out. The children have to flee Ashdene Ridge, ending in the hands of something even worse. How will they manage to survive? Will they be rescued?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It looked like a nuclear bomb had landed. And in some ways, it had the same effects.

Johnny sat on the army's boat as it cruised slowly through the River Forth, of what used to be Edinburgh. The fires had all been put out a year and a half ago, when this disaster began, only a month after he left Ashdene Ridge, but the evidence was still here.

As he looked out at the bridge, then at the nearby, grubby beaches, he knew the chances of finding anyone alive and uninfected were slim.

In May 2015, an airborne virus had broken out in Sheffield. The symptoms were terrible; red, puffy eyes, followed by slurred speech and stumbling. Then, savagery, growling like an animal, brutal, attacking everyone in sight, with whatever they could find.

This lasted twenty-four hours before the victim died, in a puddle of their own urine.

Johnny had been training on the Isle of Man when it began. When ferries filled with refugees had crowed on, they had to stop and help everyone get rehomed. The government was too busy trying to sort the virus out.

Johnny had worried for Ashdene Ridge. Especially Tee.

He still thought about her. He tried not to cry. She'd have just turned sixteen.

But when the virus had eradicated England, Scotland and Wales, it brought along its own problems. Tens of thousands of people from the north-west of England alone, who had come to the Isle of Man, had to be rehomed, helped, look for survivors.

But then, unbelievably, it had got worse.

Due to rising water levels, the Thames Barrier had broken. London had flooded. A few villages on the eastern coast had been wrecked as well; the Forth had almost sunk Edinburgh.

Now, it was deemed safe to look for survivors.

As Johnny's eyes scanned the empty beaches, he heard the captain shout out.

They'd found a girl on one of the beaches. She was shivering, cold from the autumn air, wearing just a thin, purple dress. But alive.

His eyes widened as she was helped up.

Tee.

"Tee!" he gasped, before she turned to him, smiling.

"I can't believe you're alive!" he cried out, embracing her.

She managed to hold him, hardly believing what was going on. "Johnny!" she squealed, gripping on. Then her smile faded, as she pointed, "Some of us are over there. But we're not all in good condition."

The captain asked, "How many?"

Tee thought for half a second, before answering, "Nineteen."

She looked back at Johnny, her eyes filled with tears. "They're not going to believe it."

Then Johnny asked her, "What happened?"

So she told him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Day One

It had been a normal day at Ashdene Ridge. Harry and Finn were watching TV, Bailey, Tyler and Jody were playing football, Carmen and Kazima were in the kitchen as Carmen painted her nails and Kazima got a drink.

But then the television had gone to an emergency broadcast.

Mike called in from the garden, while May-Li had gone upstairs. Tee had been in her room when May-Li entered.

"Tee, you need to come down, something's on the news." May-Li told her quickly, before going off.

When Tee had come downstairs, everyone was staring at the television as if it were a dying creature; horrendous, but needed to in case something happened.

A broadcaster had a grim face while overheard videos of Sheffield came onscreen.

"A brutal riot has taken place in Sheffield, but these aren't ordinary rioters. As you can see onscreen, these people are savagely attacking anyone in sight, with whatever weapons they can find. As far as I know, a man has a shotgun and is aiming at a school coach, but there doesn't appear to be anyone dead yet…they're smashing windows and stabbing people and some…oh my god! They're biting others! A leaked report from a Sheffield laboratory has confirmed that a cure for cancer, still in the early stages, was sent off to a hospital by mistake and the vicious people you see below are not just from the hospital, but those they have _bitten_ …the symptoms are red, puffy eyes…followed by slurred speech and stumbling, followed by twenty-four hours of violence, followed by urinating and death."

Then the sound of glass being broken was much closer to the camera and the broadcaster shouted, "All homes must be closed off, windows shut, curtains drawn, do not, repeat, _do not_ let any air in if you live near Sheffield. Get that _beep_ camera off the _beep_ face, you _beep_!"

Then the television went to static. Mike turned it off. He turned to them.

"We need action. Now. May-Li is taking some of you to the supermarket to grab stuff, don't be more than an hour and a half. If you are, we're locking you out. I'm sorry."

There was absolute silence. No-one knew what to say. Then Carmen managed to ask, "And…what do we…we do?"

Mike looked down and ran a hand over his face, before answering them, "We need food. Water. Enough for two weeks. Maybe more. I have no idea. We can't stay here for long without water. The phone lines are down, there'll be looting, it's going to be a nightmare, but just _hold on_."

May-Li went out quickly. With Carmen, Kazima, Tee, Bailey, Tyler and Mo, they arrived at the supermarket within minutes.

It was chaos, put lightly.

People rushed in and out of the supermarket gates, the alarms going off all the time, security guards with weapons at the ready, food and water knocked on the floor. So May-Li just told them, "Run!"

Tee had rushed off towards the first aisle she found. Unfortunately, it was electronics, so she couldn't think of what to get. Soon, she grabbed some batteries and three torches.

After what seemed like an eternity of running round, they managed to get out. Tee was grasping a basket full of batteries, torches, bottled water, fizzy drink cans, tins of syrup, tins of fruit, tinned vegetables, jelly packets and four magazines. She didn't know why she'd picked up the magazines; it had been on impulse. Maybe it could be good toilet paper.

May-Li had been slightly more sensible and headed to the bakery. Almost getting a black eye as she grabbed two pies, she snatched up a few sets of croissants and some cinnamon buns.

Bailey had gone round to the frozen food section. He'd faired less than the others, with several punches and only a few packets of fish fingers.

Carmen had got sweets. Tons of sweets.

Kazima had managed to steal some fruit. Being on the streets, she knew how to handle this. Condensed milk, sardines, tuna, sweet corn and Indian food added to the basket.

Tyler took packets of biscuits, a few bags of flour, tons of large bags of crisps, a few frozen pizzas and puddings, a few cereal boxes, tea and coffee, baked beans, tinned tomatoes, soup, nuts and large bottles of fizzy drink. He'd also been the only one smart enough to get a trolley.

Mo had been so scared, he'd only managed a few boxes of chocolates and some pancakes.

When they'd run out (May-Li had no idea whether she should pay or not, but it seemed that even the employees were grabbing things off the shelves and running out) and got back to Ashdene Ridge, it was being secured.

Every curtain had been drawn, all the windows locked and Mike was giving out face-masks. Floss held onto Geoff while she put on hers, sitting on the sofa and kicking her legs. Toni and Billie were holding hands.

When Mike saw the food, he told them, "Well, it seems you were a bit smart. Aside from Carmen," Carmen looked at the ground, "but we don't know when the gas will be cut off, so it wasn't really a good idea to get frozen food. Now, we have to make the food last as long as possible. We also don't need anyone to know we're here, in case they attack."

So he went over the instructions of what they would do over the following two weeks. They'd close the curtains, not turn the television or laptop on. It would be too noisy. Besides, there may be no service. They'd play board games and read books. Or the magazines. Mike praised Tee on that.

They would use a radio, however, in the office, to check if there was anyone out there that could help.

The group would have to stay down there until further notice. Mike had contacted his superiors and they said that they were on the list for evacuation. They were a high priority, along with schools, hospitals and country villages, far from the infections.

But, even as Tee lay in her bed that night, she just wanted this to be over soon.

 **Day Four**

They'd gotten bored already. Tyler had won his fifth game of Monopoly in a row, Toni and Billie were already drawing on the walls and Kazima wanted to have fresh air.

They were sick of the face masks and didn't want to stay here, but it was useless.

As for flushing the toilet…they all stunk from not having baths or showers and had worn the same clothes for four days.

They'd rationed the food, so it was basically the same thing every day. This morning, Tee had had a quarter of a croissant. Lunch was nuts and two digestive biscuits. Tea was cold tomato soup. The food was all kept in the basement and Mike had to go three times a day to get some.

Everyone kept moaning that they were hungry. Harry said he wanted fish and chips again. Mo wanted pasta. Bailey said he'd do anything for a Cornish pasty at a football ground.

Tee looked out of the window. She knew it was dangerous, but she had peeked through the top of the blinds and saw the empty, deserted street below.

She saw a tabby cat walking along the pavement below, curious and tired. Then, it chased after a hedgehog by the zebra crossing.

Tee felt jealous.

 **Day Nine**

They were bored, hungry and desperate.

Carmen's hair hung in clotted masses around her face, from endless tossing and turning and without washing. Even she lost the need to look good each day. Toni's hands were still messy with felt tip and there was felt tip all over her sweaty, smelly clothes.

Breakfast was a quarter of a biscuit. Lunch was half a packet of crisps. No tea.

Tyler sat with Harry and Mo, by the window in the den, thinking.

Tyler muttered, "Pizza. Lovely pizza."

Harry piped up, "Pepperoni and jalapenos and mushrooms and chicken…"

Mo just said, half-asleep with boredom and not really paying attention, "With hot dog crust…"

Then they looked round at each other, small smiles appearing on their faces for the first time in a week and a half.

"No," Mike answered, when they asked, "the gas may be cut off. As it is, it's freezing and it's too much. No."

Tyler pointed annoyed at Mike. "I bothered to get pizza, so we might as well. Besides, we're running out of uncooked food. We've got what? Two days before we run out of uncooked food?"

Mike hated to say it, but he had a point. They might as well.

It was a feast that night. The two pizzas barely meant a slice each, and at margarita, it was hardly exotic. But they enjoyed it as if it were a Roman banquet.

Warm, luscious food for the first time in so long. With a small glass of fizzy water on the side. It was better than anything they'd had in a long time.

Or so it felt.

 **Day Thirteen**

Mike had managed to get through on the radio. He'd sworn when he found out what they'd been doing. And Mike never swore at work.

He got everyone in the den and addressed them with a heavy heart.

"They haven't even bothered trying to help us. Apparently, they chose the stereotypical care kid view and if they are helping get children in care free, they're taking foster families, kids who were happily adopted. It's injustice."

Everyone was quiet for a minute before Bailey asked, "So…what will happen to us?"

Mike was silent for a minute. The children could tell he was close to tears, but wouldn't show it to them. "We need," he told them, "to get some more food."

Armed with a rolling pin and a few pans, May-Li, Bailey, Carmen, Kazima and Tee left the building and sat in the minibus. They were going to a different supermarket, one some miles away.

Driving through, they kept their eyes peeled for anyone infected.

While they saw some cats and dogs and even a rabbit in the street, people's pets that had run off, they saw no-one.

Well, they saw a body in the supermarket car park.

A man, in his fifties, lying dead on the pavement, a number of flies buzzing over. A dog was sniffing him and was probably about to do more.

May-Li scanned him for a second, before telling them with confidence, "I'm pretty sure he's been dead some time."

But they still felt incredibly sick, so they quickly entered.

The shelves were almost empty. But they managed to find some things left behind.

Everyone took a basket. May-Li found some yoghurt, some, to her, rare fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh pizza, a sponge pudding and a tin of custard.

Bailey took some toilet paper (they'd need it), asparagus and beetroot, Mexican food and some tomato sauce.

Carmen decided to have more sense this time and went to the bakery aisle. Sadly, nothing there was fresh. She thought a blueberry muffin looked fresh, before she saw it wasn't blueberry. Treacle and jelly were in plenty. Chocolate biscuits, ginger biscuits and shortbread packets. Corned beef, anchovies. Meringue. Rice cakes. She was almost proud of herself and smiled as she swaggered down the aisle.

Kazima went to the vegetable aisles. Tomatoes, mushrooms and some basil-like stuff that May-Li told her was rocket. Small tins of baked beans and sausages. Mayonnaise and barbeque sauce. Spaghetti. She knew she shouldn't get stuff that needed to be cooked, but at this point, she'd even eat cold spaghetti.

Tee had gone further down, to the book aisle. So many books she may never get to read. Oh well, it would make a change from the same rubbish articles on how to get the right summer look. Even Carmen was sick of it.

A few smoothie juices, soda water and lime cordial. She took some more bottles of water, as well as some orange squash. Lemonade, cherryade and something called dandelion and burdock. Milk and some fresh raspberries. Dried herbs and raspberry jam. Honey, peanut butter and lemon curd.

Her arms ached. As she wandered over to take a trolley, she saw a birthday card on the floor.

There was writing on it, grown-up writing that was impossible to decipher. But she saw some kisses at the bottom. It had been written in a hurry, presumably for someone they loved.

Had they escaped? Had they managed to live? Were they saved?

Tee felt a pang in her heart as she thought of Johnny. He had been on the Isle of Man when this started, so maybe he was still alive. Did he think she was alive?

She strolled through again, trying not to think about him, as she picked up Yorkshire puddings. Just try and move on.

The world had gone to pieces, or at least, Britain had. This was her life now, like it or not.

 **Day Fifteen**

Mike had got through on the radio again. A broadcast, saying that London had been taken over and most places north of Edinburgh were still slightly safe.

Over 600,000 people had been listed as infected, either dead or not there yet, an estimated five million had been killed and over thirty million had been evacuated to places as far away as Argentina and Cambodia. Some had just run to the airports and taken the first flight, no matter where it went.

About twenty million Britons were still in hiding, with about ten million rescued so far.

When Mike had started working in care, he knew that he would do his best to make sure the children he looked after weren't another statistic.

Now, he'd live up to that promise in a different way.

As he watched them as they kept on reading, he smiled slightly.

Tee had been thoughtful, picking up a few books. He didn't exactly approve of them; some of them were crime fiction and he was scared she'd get nightmares. But she'd picked up some children's books for Floss, Toni, Billie, Harry and Finn, so she did what she could.

He knew they couldn't last much longer. They'd need to go on.

He estimated the food would last them about another month. Where then? Where could they go then?

He doubted the country would be close to being cleaned up then.

He needed another place to go. But who could hold a bunch of orphans?

He saw Jody on the stairs outside, sitting down and thinking. She was thumbing through the dictionary, she'd got so bored.

He made a plan. He'd listen on the radio for anyone out there.

Maybe they'd get some help.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

 **Day Thirty-Eight**

Five weeks into the disaster and Ashdene Ridge had had enough.

Mike surveyed the children as they slumped in the den. They were sick of being as quiet as possible, with the curtains forever drawn and nothing to do.

To stop herself going mad, Kazima had done this difficult exercise in the kitchen. It involved a lot of jogging on the spot, punching, kicking and backflips. Whether it was really safe to do it in the kitchen was an issue, though.

Also, the toilets had become so heavily blocked, due to no-one flushing, that they'd had to resort to the kitchen sink and the bathtubs. The smell was horrendous and no-one dared go into the bathrooms any more.

May-Li had sprayed some air freshener around, but it was so much that the children kept coughing.

As well as this, they were tired of wearing the same face masks all day, every day. They even had to sleep with them on.

Mike had tried the radio all day, as he sat in the office with his lunch, half a chocolate biscuit and a spring of asparagus, on a plate next to the computer. He was tired of this and wanted to get the children somewhere safe.

Somewhere warm, with good food and running water. Somewhere where they didn't have to be scared every day and panic at every creaking noise.

A few nights ago, they were certain that the infected had come to the door, so May-Li had herded all the children, minus Bailey, who insisted he could help, to the basement, with the door locked from the inside.

May-Li, Bailey and Mike had waited for four hours by the door, ready with frying pans. The noises had soon stopped when they realised it was a fox.

The children had waited all that time in the damp, cold, dark basement, forcing themselves not to cry. Floss had wet herself. Tyler almost had a panic attack. Carmen's hair got caught in the door and she nearly screamed.

Now, Mike fiddled with the radio, hoping to get some signal.

Then, after all hope had but extinguished, he got through.

" _Hello, is anyone receiving me? This is headmaster Quigley Rhodes of Holly Beach College. Is anyone there_?"

Mike had immediately answered, "Yes! I can hear you!"

A bit of silence, before the voice asked him, " _What is your name_?"

"I-I am Michael Milligan of Ashdene Ridge children's home," Mike answered, "where are you?"

" _We are situated in a mansion near Invergordon, Highlands. How many of you are there?_ "

Mike thought for a second. "Fourteen of us."

Then the voice asked, " _How long will it take you to get here?_ "

Mike thought for a minute. "I guess no more than two days."

The voice answered, " _Good. We are near an access point to a helipad. We can find someone soon. We also have the beginnings of a cure. We're not certain, but we are on our way._ "

Mike could hardly believe this. He answered, ecstatically, "OK, we'll get ready."

He managed to tell everyone within a minute, as he began packing.

Tee managed to stuff some photographs of Johnny and her mum in her backpack, along with three of the books she'd got, some old magazines under her bed and a few articles of clothing, before she walked out and saw May-Li pulling a suitcase behind her in the hallway.

"How far away is it?" Tee asked.

May-Li stopped and answered, "Mike says it's not too far from Inverness, so it's likely to be at the least a day. It's just that we may need to stop a quite times and use country roads to get away from infected."

Tee nodded, walking down slowly.

This had been her home for several years. How could she just leave it like this?

As she stood at the bottom of the stairs, with Finn, Ryan and bailey walking past her to get out, she just couldn't work out what to do.

But it seemed as if this was it. She would have to leave.

She was a refugee.

As they pushed all the food to the boot and the inside of the minibus was filled with pots, pans, a lampshade and Carmen's hairdryer, Mike checked everyone was on.

They all were and, as he pushed a wooden box of knives under the passenger seat (he refused to let the kids know they were there) he set the minibus into gear.

The children and May-Li watched as they drove away, leaving Ashdene Ridge behind them.

Eight hours later, as darkness began to appear, they stopped at a petrol station. For some reason, the lights were still on there.

Mike insisted they sleep in shifts. Between eight and nine, it was his. Then May-Li, Bailey, Carmen, Kazima, Ryan, Tyler, Jody, then Mike again, Bailey, Carmen and Kazima. Then at six the next morning, May-Li would take the wheel.

Mike armed himself with a frying pan and entered the petrol station wearily.

It was almost completely ransacked, with bags and baskets and even shelves littered all over the floor. One aisle had broken glass all over the floor, from where some wine bottles had been smashed.

Still, he managed to get a basket and filled it with crisps, biscuits, a few chocolate bars and some fizzy drink cans. He guessed the kids needed a bit of a treat.

As he stopped by the counter, he saw a piece of paper dated just that day.

It was a letter to someone. The owner of the petrol station had written it to his wife, way down south. He said that he was heading for the coastline and he hoped she and the kids had got to the Isle of Man by now.

Mike pushed it away, quickly. It felt slightly rude and anyway, he didn't want to upset himself.

As he put some muffins – amazingly, they weren't stale yet – into the basket, he heard grunting noises from the bathroom.

Looking, he put the basket down and examined.

In the disabled toilet was a man. Well, it used to be a man.

He wore a once-white shirt with a brown cap and trousers. His nametag read _Jacob_. He looked about Mike's age.

He had red, puffy eyes.

Mike instantly swung into action. Holding the pan, as the infected ran up, teeth bared, Mike hit him repeatedly round the face, forcing the man to the ground.

There were endless snarls, all of which sounded like a pig in pain, before Mike slammed the door.

Thankfully, the wine bottles were right next to the toilets, so he grabbed the first handle he could and attacked.

When he'd finished, he barely registered that his hand was bleeding. But then he looked carefully at the infected for a while, before standing up and walking backwards, just in case.

Pushing a chair from the back against the door handle, he was about to go out the door before he looked back at the note.

He pulled a pen from the side before writing, _I am sorry, but Jacob became infected on_

He looked at his watch, with the date on. Then he put _Jacob is in the disabled toilet. I'd advise you not to let the kids in there. I'm so sorry_.

As Mike walked slowly out, he kept his eyes peeled. But all that seemed to have happened was that the children had fallen asleep.

 **Day Thirty-Nine**

They left at half six that morning, as the morning sun shone a pink hue behind the trees. Mike had the sat-nav set up with the address, but he didn't know what to do while they headed there, though. As he lay back in the passenger seat, still asleep despite the sun beaming down on them, May-Li set the minibus up and they drove off.

As they went off, they didn't notice a small car drive in behind them. A woman and two young children, both under ten years old, came out and went inside. While the minibus was still in sight of the petrol station, all three of them seemed to leave. Rather quickly.

The minibus drove on through dirt roads, past endless green and yellow fields, even some with cottages and small villages in sight.

At the border, they went past a bunch of fields, which made Carmen look out sadly. Tee asked, "What is it?"

Carmen answered, "It's just…everywhere seems sick. But you can't tell out here."

Tee had to agree with her. They just sped on, going through the endless countryside.

Just after midday, they stopped by some trees near a river called Black Burn.

May-Li set up a blanket on the ground, with their lunch. Munching on crisps and cocktail sausages, they had to admit, this was the happiest they'd had in ages, even before the outbreak.

As Tee glanced round, she saw someone through the trees. Standing up, she grabbed a pan from the ground. Kazima asked her, "What is it?" Tee answered, quickly, "I think someone's in the trees."

May-Li then ushered everyone back on the minibus, saying, "Come on, come back on. Now!"

Mike leapt to the driver's seat and put his seatbelt on, before they saw who came through the trees.

Filthy, her clothes torn and hair a mess, wielding a shampoo bottle and a piece of wood, was Elektra.

"Elektra!" Carmen shouted. Elektra began to smile, running over.

"Guys! I never thought I'd see you here!" she called out, quickly embracing Carmen. Then she looked round at all of them, a huge smile on her face.

"Why are you here?"

Mike explained, "We got a call that there's somewhere safe in the mountains. Where's your family?"

Elektra's smile faded as she explained and they drove off.

 _It had been horrible. She'd been living with her family when it had begun. She'd been in the house when it happened. Her mother had been in Sheffield on business when it had happened. She still had no idea where her mother was._

 _They'd closed all the curtains and hid in the attic, just in case._

 _Elektra's dad had used the spare bed up there, while Elektra and her sister slept on the floor. They'd stayed up there, eating off tinned food and bottled water, for about a month. They'd gone to the toilet through a circle sawn above the bathroom._

 _Three days earlier, some infected people had broken in. they'd looked through the cracks in the floor and saw them._

 _There were two of them, a man and a woman, both young and in filthy clothes. Elektra and her sister and dad had stayed absolutely quiet, but the male infected had begun banging on the door. Elektra's cold had run cold when his long, yellowing nails had squeaked on the wooden door._

 _Elektra's dad quickly shoved Elektra and her sister in a built-in cupboard, hoping the infected would miss it, before he hid under the bed._

 _The girls had heard the door pound down while their dad fought him off. It hadn't been long._

 _They had no idea how long they'd waited in there, desperate. All they knew was that it was at least six hours before they dared open the door._

 _Their dad was gone._

 _The girls had carefully looked downstairs before packing two backpacks full of food and water, as well as treasured items, risking a long walk._

 _It had been nightfall when they'd got out, but they'd heard the sound of helicopters above them. Following the flight path, stumbling through thorns and crossing streams, they'd reached the coast and saw that there was a ferry._

 _Hundreds of other people were there, too._

 _There'd only been room for fifty people. The Red Cross had finally dared to help. They were mostly helping on women and children, especially pregnant women, but refused anyone over the age of fifty-five or anyone disabled._

 _Elektra and her sister had insisted and begged with the Red Cross, so when Elektra's sister and a few others had got through the gate, the Red Cross had slammed the ferry doors and took off. Elektra had been one of those pulling at the wire fence, screaming._

 _Then, the worst happened. An infected was in the crowd._

 _Elektra had been lucky, diving under a car with two small children. She saw loads of people rushing through the car park, screaming. The infected stayed until sunrise._

 _Nobody dared get out. After some hours, someone would come out, only for an infected to strike._

 _She'd waited about twenty-four hours under there, before getting out. Some of the survivors were breaking into the cars and driving away. Elektra heard from two ex-deliverymen that there was another pick-up in Glasgow in two days, so she'd managed to break into a car._

 _Unfortunately, she couldn't drive._

 _So she looked around. A few guys were offering lifts to people, men, women and children, but she denied this. Instead, she took a ride with a woman and her son._

 _They'd driven up to Glasgow, where Elektra had left them and raided a shop._

 _She'd torn at the food like a wild animal._

 _Then, some other helicopters flew above. But they were dropping objects. Into the empty Glasgow streets._

 _Chemicals. To drive out the infected._

 _Most people were lucky, managing to run onto a ferry. But Elektra had hidden in a car, taking a drive. She didn't care where she went._

 _She'd bumped over the dirt roads, but the car ran out of petrol only two miles back. She'd slept in the car before trying to look for food._

 _Just a couple of apple cores. She'd pushed the ants off and taken some. It was useless. At times she felt like crying, but remained on her guard. She'd drunk from the stream and whenever a helicopter flew above, she'd hidden in the car. But none of them dropped anything._

 _She'd now just run over when she'd heard them talking_.

Everyone listened in stunned silence to her story. It really showed them how dangerous this place was.

Elektra asked, "Can I have some crisps?" when she was given a packet by Bailey, she jumped on it, shoving crisps in. she then looked up.

"I'm eating like an animal, aren't I?" she asked.

"Yes." Bailey answered rather sarcastically.

Then Tee interrupted. "It's not her fault. She's barely had anything."

But she just rested against the seats, fast asleep. She'd been through too much.

Some hours later, after driving round the edge of Edinburgh, they saw a stop sign across the road. A few cardboard boxes with curtains and rugs drawn over them were in the middle of the pavement.

Mike called out, rather foolishly, "Hey! Can I get past?"

Then the rug moved. A young, dark man ordered, "Hey! Get out!"

Mike put his hands up, hoping the man would back off. "Hey, we don't want any trouble."

"No, you're a bus. The infected crawl to follow people. You get off now!"

Then the curtains moved from another box and someone came out. "Hey Zach, leave them alone." Then she stared at the bus.

"Faith?" Mike asked, in disbelief.

Faith smiled at them. "Oh, hey," she managed to stammer out, before turning back to the boxes. "Hey! It's Ashdene Ridge!" she shouted.

The curtains moved and they saw Frank managing to get out. They could hardly believe it.

"Where are you going?" Faith asked.

Mike answered, "We're going north. There are some people that can help us get out of here."

Faith then looked over at Zach. "We're leaving," she snapped at him, to which he answered, "Whatever. You and the spastic are just a waste of time. You're taking my food."

When Faith and Frank sat on the minibus, May-Li asked, "How did you get here?"

Faith told them.

 _When she'd got to the ferries for the Isle of Man, they'd been shut off. They'd been forced away. She'd found Frank on the streets again._

 _They'd managed to walk to Edinburgh, hoping to get a boat. But the last boat had left a day earlier. They'd found Zach in a store. He was a violent mess._

 _They'd shared their food, but Zach always took the most, insisting he was the strong man and they'd just have to get used to it. The only reason Faith didn't argue was because it meant they had a roof over their heads._

 _Until yesterday, when the infected stormed in and ripped the place apart._

 _So they'd stolen some cardboard boxes and sat outside, in the freezing night air._

Mike told her, "But it's fine now, we can go together."

But he knew it wouldn't really be fine.

 **A/N: OK, I was hoping for reviews, so that's why I waited so long between chapters. I kept forgetting people have exams now. Oh, it's so much easier when you're grown up in terms of exams. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and here's a hint for the coming chapters. If you've seen a certain horror movie, you'll know exactly what I mean.**

 **If it helps, the film was made in Britain about 14 years ago.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

They reached the mansion just before sunset.

The minibus slowly grinded to a halt as they passed the last few fields to the mansion. There was a huge brick wall scaling the edge of the grounds, at least three and a half times the size of the minibus. The iron gates had three huge padlocks round it and jagged glass stuck to the outsides. A few knives were tied on to the bars. It was a fortress.

Mike got out and looked around.

"I don't know if anyone's here," he told them, peering round at the gravel round the outside of the mansion.

A few of them got off the minibus. Ryan, Kazima and Tyler walked up to him and started looking round as well.

"Nobody's here." Tyler told Mike.

Mike put a hand up and answered, "I know, we're having a look. I think this is the right place."

He didn't dare say that he thought the infected may have got in. it seemed pretty secure, but maybe there was another entrance?

He walked back to the minibus, just as a few others, Carmen, Tee, Harry and Frank, came off.

Carmen asked, "Is this the place?"

Mike shrugged. "I honestly don't know, Carmen."

Then Frank started wandering off near some cars parked nearby, under a garage roof.

For a minute, he stayed there, before shrieking. Mike turned and saw that an old man was savagely attacking Frank.

He didn't need to see the man's eyes to tell he was infected.

"Back on the minibus!" he shouted.

Harry screamed. He had never seen such a horrible sight in front of him.

Mike grabbed his arm and began dragging him on.

Carmen bravely snatched her hairdryer from her seat and ran up to the monster. Mike and May-Li shouted to her, but Carmen had thrown the hairdryer and, with precise aim, had hit it on the head, causing it to fall back. Onto broken glass.

Carmen looked at Frank, but now he was slightly different. His eyes…they were red and puffy.

Carmen turned and quickly ran, screaming.

Frank had taken no second chances. He ran forward, snarling like an animal, vicious and hungry. For Carmen's blood.

Then, it was all over.

Bullets shot out from the gate and in some bushes nearby. They hit Frank just as Carmen reached the minibus. She turned round, leaning against the bonnet and took it in.

Everyone watched as someone who used to be their friend, now a horrible monster, was gunned down in front of them.

Their rescuers came out, four from two of the bushes, one from another and five more from the gates.

The gates opened and the rescuers came out.

Aside from one man with slightly greying hair and a large nose, the rescuers all looked in their twenties, in ripped jeans and ripped shirts, holding handguns. They carefully held the guns near Frank and the infected man, as the older man came up.

"My apologies," he held a hand out to Mike, "Headmaster Rhodes. I am sorry about your friend there."

He genuinely seemed sorry, so Mike nodded. It was all he could do.

Then Rhodes looked at everyone as they gingerly came off the bus. "You weren't kidding when you said you were a children's home," he remarked, "well, best get everyone inside. We have working showers. You'll also need to bring in any food and essentials with you."

He then asked, "How many of there are you?"

"Sixteen," Mike answered, without hesitation, "there's me and Miss Wang and sixteen kids. Well, two of them we found on the way who'd grown up and left us."

Headmaster Rhodes showed them in.

The front room was filled with dark wood, a cream carpet on the stairs. The walls were cream and very high. It looked like the sort of place that a hundred years ago would have had animal heads on the wall.

One last person stood inside, standing by the stairs. He nodded at everyone, tipping his cap for May-Li, smiling.

Rhodes told Mike, "This is Theo. He'll show you to your rooms."

Then he took Mike on a tour of the grounds.

"The kitchen's through here," he told Mike, gesturing to a downstairs room. Two of the young men were already in there, starting to do some pasta thing.

"We found the electricity still works, but we've also got a backup generator, powered by bicycle. Dave thought up the idea, he's a science major."

Then he took Mike to the lounge. Some comfy chairs set out, an old, 1980s television with a video player, some rugs and bookshelves.

Then Rhodes told him, "We were really excited when you were coming. We've tried the radio for days. We were having a trip in the mountains. Teach the boys some Scouting exercise. Then we came to the nearest town, found everyone gone, what was left were a bunch of violent killers. We drove to Edinburgh. The same. We found a few ferries had gone off. But I'd say it's a disaster. I reckon most of the world's gone to the dogs."

Mike didn't say that it was likely it was just Britain, but even if he did, the headmaster must tell him otherwise.

He carried on. "We picked up signals from France and Denmark. There are some small groups of survivors, as far as we can work out, but so far, it looks like me and the others are just surviving."

Then he took Mike upstairs to a bedroom. "This is your room. You'll be sharing it with Will. He was the sports captain back at the college."

He then sighed and Mike asked, "How…how are you, considering?"

Headmaster Rhodes looked him in the eye. "Mike, it's been dreadful. The college is back in Edinburgh. It was closed off. What used to be the deputy head was stumbling around. The science teacher? I'm not going to go there. But at least it looks like he died quickly."

Then he looked straight at Mike. "You'll get a boat tomorrow. We managed to get through to some people and they're heading here when I said that women and children were coming. They'd never rescue eleven guys on their own."

Mike asked, "You said there was a cure. What is it?"

Headmaster Rhodes looked puzzled for a second, then smiled. "All in good time, Mike. Now, how about something to eat?"

Nobody wanted to eat after seeing Frank's death. Not even at a wooden table and tablecloth with candles on.

But after the young men had served up a few homemade cheeseburgers and chips, with wine for Mike, May-Li and Elektra, lemonade for the children, they had to admit that they hadn't eaten a full or hot meal for ages.

Harry and Floss simply fussed at the chips, pushing them round the plate. Harry piped up after a while, "When's the help arriving?"

Rhodes smiled at him and answered, "A boat's coming tomorrow. You'll go on. Up at sunrise. You can use your minibus and we've got a coach ourselves. It's just a five minute drive."

"Who's coming?" Ryan asked.

Rhodes answered him, "The Red Cross. They're coming at eight am, so we'd better have our sleep soon. I expect you're tired after that long journey."

When Mike had gone to bed, he saw Will, a young man with dark hair, fiddling with a handbook.

"Excuse me, Mr Milligan, sir," he began, "if you don't mind me asking, how old is that girl with the blue hair?"

Mike raised an eyebrow before he folded his arms and bluntly replied, "I know where you're coming from, young man, but I'd say you should ask _her_ first. Besides, she's eighteen."

He still didn't look away from Will as the boy carried on reading.

It happened quite early that morning. Mike awoke to the light on and Will rummaging through his backpack. Mike sat up and asked, sleepily, "What's going on?"

Will looked back, a little startled. Then he answered, "The ferry."

As Mike got up, he followed Will down to the minibus. As he got on, in the complete darkness, he saw, from the light of Will's torch, just a few of the residents.

Tyler, Mo, Bailey and Ryan sat on some of the seats. As Mike sat down next to Mo, he asked, "Where's everyone else?"

Then he heard a gun sliding into place.

There were six men on here, including Headmaster Rhodes. He was sitting in the driver's seat, smiling horribly.

Then he began talking to Mike.

"Mike, it seemed as if there was a problem. The thing is, it's the end of the world. The end of civilization. I came across James the other day, in his room. He's like your children; a care kid. He got lucky and ended up at a good college. But he only had the college. He was crying, about to jump off the roof. He didn't see anything to live for any more.

"So I promised them. I promised the boys. I promised them women. Because women mean a future."

A horrible chill went down Mike's spine as he realised exactly what they had in mind for Mike and the boys, as well as the horrendous future they had for the girls.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

 **Day Forty**

The others found out when they were herded into a bedroom. One of the older of the men, Neil, a slender, blonde guy, told them what Rhodes had told Mike.

Fair to say, they didn't take it lightly.

Jody gripped May-Li's hand, as Tee sobbed onto the woman's shirt. Elektra and Faith stared at each other, while Carmen and Kazima gripped hands. Harry, Finn, Floss, Toni and Billie looked confused.

Neil told them, "We'll have a bit of fun just before breakfast. There are some outfits in the main bedroom for the ladies. The children will remain in their bedroom on the second floor."

Three of the other men, Dave, Ewan and Leroy, held the guns up and prodded. May-Li, Elektra, Faith, Carmen, Kazima, Tee and Jody walked miserably off to the bedroom.

The men stood by the door, guns at the ready, watching. Dave pulled the wardrobe open and grabbed some dresses straight off the hangers, not really knowing or caring which ones they were, before placing them on a nearby chair.

Faith felt really uncomfortable as she took her shirt off – none of them had nightclothes – and put one hand on her arm. Elektra took her time, undoing her jacket and taking her shoes off.

Dave scoffed, before moaning, "Hurry up!" and then he grabbed May-Li by the wrists. She screamed, punching and kicking him, forcing Leroy to help hold her as Dave pulled her t-shirt over her head.

Jody and Tee held onto one another, scared. Carmen just stood, head in her hands, while Kazima lunged. Leroy held her back, grabbing her arms, as May-Li beat off the two men.

Then she stopped and begged, not even brave enough to look them in the eye, "Please. Leave us alone. We'll get changed, but leave us alone."

Then they let go of her and Leroy let go of Kazima. Dave asked, "How long will you be?"

May-Li thought for a moment. "Five minutes, tops."

The men looked at each other, before Ewan did a symbol that meant he had his eye on them. They left, locking the door.

Tee ran over to May-Li and hugged her, crying.

"Why?" she asked, "Why are they doing this?"

May-Li had absolutely no idea what she could say. So she just held the girl to her and stroked her hair.

Then Elektra asked, "Why can't we just run off?"

May-Li told her, "Elektra, I'd rather be a ravaging monster than in here. But they've got guns, they've got who knows what locked away, plus I'm sure they'll work out soon that this is just confined to Britain."

"What happens to us then?" Kazima asked, bluntly, "I've seen this happen. They won't want evidence."

May-Li looked down for a second, letting Tee weep on her, before answering, with a deep breath, "We'll just have to wait."

She felt as if she had failed them. But she knew she would still do everything in her power to help them.

Five minutes later, the girls and May-Li were sitting in the lounge, with the four men on three of the armchairs and Theo walking around. The girls and May-Li had managed to get similar short-sleeved dresses in the wardrobe, rainbow-coloured in descending age. May-Li and Carmen's dresses were really tight, while the others' were looser.

May-Li dared to ask, "What now?"

Neil shrugged. "Guess we wait for Headmaster Rhodes to get back."

Faith and Elektra were holding hands. Carmen had her arms round her body, looking down. Kazima kept looking between the clock and May-Li. Tee and Jody kept wiping their eyes.

May-Li dared to ask again. "I-if…" she managed to get out, "y-you do anything…please, don't hurt the girls. I'll do whatever you want, just please, don't hurt them."

The boys were looking at each other, nervously. Neil asked, "How old are the girls?"

May-Li answered, "Elektra's eighteen, Faith's seventeen, Carmen and Kazima are fifteen and Tee and Jody are fourteen."

Neil gestured for the others to follow him and they went to a corner, talking in hushed voices. The girls knew that their fates lay in these men's hands.

The men soon turned and Neil answered, "Right, you, you and you," he pointed at May-Li, Faith and Elektra, "you're all right. The others, we'll wait until they're sixteen."

May-Li nodded. She didn't bother arguing; if she did, they might get violent or go back on their promise.

She managed to say, in a hoarse whisper, "OK."

Meanwhile, just as daylight appeared, the minibus stopped by a telegraph pole at the edge of a country road, with trees on either side and a view of some steep hills beyond.

Headmaster Rhodes ordered them out.

The men made them walk further down the road, hands on their heads.

They walked slowly round to a bend, where Rhodes ordered them to stop.

Then he looked straight at Mike, right in the eyes and told him, "I really don't want to have to kill people, Mike. If you – and your boys – want, they can help us. After all, women provide the future for our race. It's the same in every animal species. After all, you've got a bunch of teenage girls back there, maybe one of these guys here is their boyfriend."

Mike looked back at them. Tyler looked like he was about to cry. Bailey was trembling, partly from the morning cold, but Mike wouldn't blame him if he was scared. Ryan was licking his lip and Mo was about to break down any minute.

Mike answered, firmly, "No. And you don't dare…"

But then, Theo stepped forward, as did Will. The four others, James, Schmuel, Li Chang and Rudy, aimed their guns. Mike let go of his head for one minute to grip Mo's hand and they closed their eyes.

Will went right up to Mike, causing him to open his eyes.

Will pushed him and they were forced further down the hill, into the forest.

When they reached a clearing, Will ordered them to stop. Then he made Bailey sit on the ground in one spot, Tyler and Ryan at another and Mo and Mike at a third. He gestured to the other men.

The men started tying the boys' hands behind them, the guns positioned so they faced the boys if they tried to escape.

Mike asked Rudy, who was tying his hands, "What are you doing?" Rudy shrugged, before he answered, "They want us to leave you here for the infected. Just in case, if you're not dead tomorrow, we're coming back and shooting you."

As the other men began to leave, Rudy hissed into Mike's ear, "Consider this a chance to escape." Before Mike could say anything, Rudy had shoved something cold and hard into Mike's hand.

Mike didn't know why Rudy had done it, but he could tell it was a knife. They waited until the engine of the minibus had driven off before Mike told Mo, "Hold still."

Tyler asked, his voice hoarse, "What are we going to do?"

Mike, still concentrating on holding the knife properly and getting Mo free, answered, "Just follow the road. There may be help nearby."

Ryan piped up, "But the girls? And May-Li?"

Mike sighed heavily before he answered, "We'll have to try. Believe me, I don't know where we are. How far away we are. But if we follow the road, we may get somewhere."

When they were all free, Mike started to lead them up the path to the main road. They went in the other direction from where they'd come, with Mike leading them. He couldn't believe what he'd experienced.

The only ones left in his care were four, frightened little boys and he had no food, no water and no idea where they were. He just hoped to find someone, _somewhere_ soon.

He didn't think about the girls. He forced himself not to.

He had to remain strong for the boys.

Eventually, they walked through to some heather at a swift bend. Mike put his arm out to wait, to listen, just in case they heard an infected. Nothing.

Then Mo groaned, "I'm hungry."

Mike answered, soothingly, "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find somewhere soon."

He looked back at the others. They were barely shadows of their former selves. Bailey and Tyler were no longer cheery and hadn't smiled in ages. Strong Ryan was now almost breaking down.

But he knew he had to go on.

When they reached a fork in the road, Mike smiled at a sign. He pointed. "See? We're nearly at the coast," he told them, helping them on.

At the mansion, Headmaster Rhodes was briefed by Neil on the situation. He seemed to go along with Neil's idea, telling Schmuel to get the study ready.

In the lounge, May-Li sat between Elektra and Faith, still in their bright dresses. Elektra's hair clashed with hers, Faith just stared down at hers. May-Li was trying to keep a brave face.

The boys that had come back began surveyed them, as if they were chocolates in a box. Then Will pointed at Elektra.

"That one," he told Rhodes, before Neil and Dave pulled her up and pushed her in the adjoining room, with a sofa and table.

Will smiled at his friends, before he went in and shut the door. Less than a minute later, he came out, groaning and holding his nose.

"I think my nose is broken," he managed to mumble out, before walking out. Rhodes pointed a long, firm finger at May-Li and Faith, still on the sofa, "You're lucky today."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

 **Day Forty-One**

They'd all fallen asleep on a bench by the grubby, grey sands. But when Mike woke up with the early sunrise, he looked across and saw a boat. It wasn't much more than a riverboat, with a platform on top and rails around, but it seemed as if someone was there.

The boat soon ground to a halt by the beach, as the boys sleepily woke up. A man in a blue boiler suit stood, hands on the railings, and asked, "How are you?"

Then Mike answered, quickly nodding as he did so, "OK. But we need help."

The man asked, "Any of you infected?"

Mike answered, "No."

The man looked over at them, examining them carefully, before he said, "Right. Come on."

He threw down a ladder and gestured with his hand for them to come up. As they came up, he asked, "How many of them are you?" Mike gabbled quickly, as he watched Mo and Ryan reach the top, "There's more of us but they're stuck back at this mansion by Cromarty Firth."

The man whistled. "Long way away. By boat, that is. Well, at this speed. There's some help stations set up in the Faroe Islands. Should take about a day to get there."

Mike insisted, as he came up, just after Tyler, "But there's a bunch of us stuck behind…I told you. Please, they're just girls, a bunch of men are holding them prisoner…"

The man in the boiler suit put a hand out and told Mike firmly, "Listen, I can't risk it. I've got eight others in here and we're all tired, we're all weary, I've barely got enough fuel to get to the Faroe Islands. But listen, the army, on the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Man, Shetland, Orkneys, Faroe, you can talk to them. Plead your case."

Mike could hardly believe it. This guy wouldn't help.

Mike begged, as he got up, "Please, you have to listen…"

But it was too late. Bailey, who'd been lagging behind, about ten feet from the boat, had shouted. An Infected, what used to be a middle-aged woman, was snarling and yelling, running across the beach from the trees, which until just now had camouflaged her.

The man in the boiler suit was forced to push the ladder back onto the ground.

Bailey screamed, "What the…?" before the woman leapt on him.

Mike looked in horror for a moment, before pushing Mo down to the stairs leading downward. As the boat left the shore, Ryan and Tyler watched as the infected woman crouched down onto what had been Bailey.

The only good news was that she hadn't run after the boat, which was still in quite shallow water.

Below decks, Mike ordered the man in the boiler suit, now down and standing outside a room with controls, where another man sat, looking out at the sea, "Why did you leave him? He could have got up."

"So could the infected," the man in the boiler suit snapped back, "I couldn't risk it. I've got eight people here, four under fourteen years old, one with the flu and one in a wheelchair, so I need to get this boat out to Faroe now!"

Mike sat down at one of the many booths and put his head in his hands, barely able to believe it. He kept losing everyone.

Frank. May-Li and the girls. Bailey.

He had been close to crying several times over the last five and a half weeks. But at this point, when his eyes watered, he still remained his steadfast approach.

Mo sat next to him and held his hand. "Don't cry, Mike," he rubbed the man's hand, "you tell us to stay positive."

Tyler and Ryan sat opposite them, just staring.

Mike tried his best. He couldn't.

Mo just kept squeezing Mike's hand and looked up at him, as the boat sped away from British shores to international waters.

Miles away, the children sat in what had been a study.

Sitting on wooden, cushioned chairs, with a long bench in front of each row of three chairs, the main desk faced them, with a large blackboard hanging behind it.

Theo sat at the desk, smiling exhaustedly at the 'students'.

Floss, Harry, Toni, Billie, Finn, Jody, Tee, Carmen and Kazima sat facing Theo, who clearly did not know much about being a teacher.

Theo then asked, "So…where were you up to in school?"

Nobody spoke. Theo then got out a primary school book and asked, "OK, little ones at the front. Read a page each and we'll see where we go from there. The older girls, fill in these sheets for me."

The book was a tedious thing that Floss' year had finished reading and the sheets were just copying notes.

But Theo soon found books for their right age groups, before getting out textbooks on science, English, history and math. He told them, "The college had them in the coach because the coach was from the nearby primary and secondary. When we finish a book level, we'll move on."

Tee raised her hand. "Yes. Err?" he asked.

"Tee."

"Yes, Tee?"

"Can I change?" the girls were still in their dresses, which Harry had said they were 'fancy'. Theo nodded.

"Go ahead," he told them and as they left, he suggested, "how about the next chapter?"

When Tee got back to the bedroom she'd shared with Jody, Carmen and Floss, she sat on the bed with her head in her hands. Carmen sat by her and pulled her close. Carmen asked, "Do you think we could get out of here?"

Tee sobbed, wiping her eye, "I don't know. I just only hope Johnny's safe. The fact he was on the Isle of Man is the only thing keeping me happy."

Carmen then said, "They said they won't hurt us."

Tee looked up at her. "Only before we're sixteen. When we're sixteen, they'll get us."

Jody still stood looking at them, not bothering to get her t-shirt and jeans. "W-" she began, "will we be out of here by then?"

Tee shrugged. "I have no idea, Jody. You're the youngest, you've got the most to wait – twenty-one months."

But they knew the evitable fate for all of the girls.

 **Day Forty-Two**

They arrived in the Faroe Islands during the afternoon.

The men in boiler suits helped everyone down when they approached the shore, at Bursatangi. It was strange, seeing a busy port when all they'd had was a devastated home. When Mike got off with the boys, an official in a black suit and an army hat came up.

"Hello, I am Mr Dam, I am here to help you settled in, we'll make sure that you are housed in the right places and that you are happy."

As they went off to an office, Mike asked, "Excuse me? Mr Dam? I have friends stuck in Scotland and they're just girls – they're being held captive-"

Mr Dam interrupted, "Send your case to the British army, they're stationed in Torshavn."

"Where?"

"This town. Now, we are this way."

At the office, they interviewed single people before groups. A woman on her own, a man on his own, then a woman in a wheelchair, with three children, before the last two.

Mike and the kids were next.

The soldier listened as Mike and the boys told him what happened, along with names and where the mansion was.

But he told them, "We have at least ninety-two units in boats circling round the island. They daren't go to help people in case of an infected attacking. You were lucky the boat came along. At the most, six boats are looking for survivors and helping. Anything from fishing boats to cargo ships. Faroe Islands, Shetlands, Orkneys, they're sorting out survivors. So far, only seventy-four survivors have been rescued."

Mike realised the circumstances they were in.

The army didn't care.

The governments didn't care that vulnerable women and children were being left behind.

 **Day Forty-Four**

Tee looked out of the window in her room before the others got up.

Sitting on the large windowsill, she could see not just the grounds, which had now been converted into an orchard and vegetable patch, but the abandoned village beyond and the river beyond that.

She just wondered. How long? Would any help arrive?

Sixteen and a half months. She had sixteen and a half months.

The days had seemed to pass in the same way. She and the other children went to lessons for four hours, before she, Carmen, Kazima and Jody left to help around the mansion after lunch. She then went back to lessons at three, until six, when dinner was served.

At seven, she and the other children went to their rooms where they read and played games. May-Li, Elektra and Faith were taken off to the lounge.

Despite any time they spent together, Tee and the others avoided talking about 'it' when they could. May-Li, Elektra and Faith seemed to react in different ways.

May-Li tried her best to stay strong and it appeared she had suffered more than the other two. Sometimes she had bruises. She didn't talk and simply looked unhappy all the time.

Elektra just bluntly refused to talk, getting angry if someone tried to help her. She was just so angry and determined to look strong in front of the others. She refused eye contact, but Tee knew she was broken inside. She just didn't want to show it.

Faith smiled whenever she could, always trying to talk and appear happy in front of them, but Tee had heard her weeping in the bathroom. She refused to let anyone else on, however.

The only time they ever talked about after dinner was when Elektra asked to change dresses with Carmen, since she looked awful in the thin, orange dress.

Tee was just going back to her room when the young men came up with guns. Talking quickly, they started pushing them further down the hallway.

"What's going on?" Tee asked, as a ladder was pulled down from the ceiling. Theo told her, pushing her up, "This won't be for long, just until tonight."

"Tonight?" Tee asked, as she reached the top and the men began pushing Toni up.

She glanced around the attic.

It was wide, dark and foreboding. In the corner, she could see four mattresses, stacked against each other. By the wall was a sink and a mirror. By the stairs was another mattress.

She could see most of them were already up here. As she turned and saw Billie being pushed up the ladder, then the men pushed the ladder up and pushed the trapdoor up.

They stayed still, in silence, in almost darkness. They didn't dare talk. Were the infected nearby?

Harry called out, after a while, "There are people below!"

May-Li, Tee and Kazima crawled quickly over to where Harry was, crouching over a large crack in the floor.

Below were four women; one looked about thirteen, with pretty dusty blonde hair and a blue jacket, one about twenty with a blonde plait, one in her early twenties in a green dress and one in her sixties, looking unhappily at her hand.

May-Li felt dreadful – she knew the fate that awaited them. She knew that if she tried to shout, it wouldn't be any use; the men would simply take them sooner.

Tee whispered, "What are we going to do?"

May-Li closed her eyes and shook her head, "I don't know."

She managed to stand up and walk to the other end of the attic, arms folded. Tee began standing up, asking, "But can't we help?"

May-Li turned her head to face her. "Believe me, I want to."

Tee argued, "But they could have a chance!" May-Li turned round fully, answering, "Don't you think I want to?"

Below, they heard what was presumably the girl giggling. Someone must have cheered her up. That giggle made May-Li's heart sink even faster.

May-Li nearly shouted at Tee, "Don't you think I know that! This girl is like thirteen! Might even be twelve; I know she's younger than Jody."

Then she put her hand on Tee and told her, "They'll force them here anyway. Believe me, we have no choice."

They stayed up there in complete silence for what seemed like forever.

Then, long after it had gotten dark, the lights went on in one of the rooms. May-Li, who'd been lying on a mattress by Faith and Carmen, sat up. With Tee, she walked over to the crack and they looked through into the front hall.

Theo, Neil, Li Chang, Leroy, Ewan and Dave were standing by the stairs, all holding guns. Headmaster Rhodes now went in front of them.

The girl was holding onto the woman with the plait, who was holding the last woman's hand. May-Li now saw from the angle that the third woman was obviously pregnant.

All looked scared and desperate.

Headmaster Rhodes told them, "You will go to the lounge, where there are some dresses that the last owner of this house had. You will wait for us."

The girl managed to say past her sniffles, "Where's Granny?"

Headmaster Rhodes answered, just as Kazima called to May-Li, by the window, "She's being taken away. You won't see her again."

The girl let go of the woman and went forward, as Theo lunged forward and started pulling her. "Please! Give her back! She's all I have!"

The men began pushing the women upstairs, as Kazima and May-Li watched as the minibus left the gates and drove away.

 **Day Forty-Five**

The boys had been rehoused.

Ryan and Mo had been sent down to a town named Kirkjubour, while Tyler was with a family in a northern part of Torshavn. Mike had begged them, but the army replied that they couldn't even keep brothers and sisters together, they did all they could.

Mike had put his case forward, which was being sent to the United Nations. The case was logged with 8,276 others from people that had managed to get away to beg to look for family members.

Fortunately, Mike's was on 'amber' because his included the phrases 'women and children' and 'sexual slavery'. The answer was that he'd expect to get a reply within two to four weeks.

"Two to four weeks?" Mike asked, when the officer told him the news.

"I'm sorry, Milligan," the officer had told him sympathetically, "but there are thousands of cases. There are 2,765 'ambers' and at least sixty per cent include vulnerable women and children. Even then, there has to be a decision about whether to send the army or air force over and that could take weeks or months."

Mike could hardly believe it.

The officer put a hand on his shoulder and offered him a leaflet.

"The good thing is, quite a lot of people here, particularly parents, are arguing in a group somewhere in town. They're contacting others in shelters in the Shetlands, Orkneys and other places about getting women and children at risk of trafficking."

When Mike had got there, he went into a hall filled with seats. Several people there, mostly men, were putting their stories forward.

Mike listened as a small man told his, "My wife and my two daughters…we lived in Edinburgh when it broke out. We lived in a shed until just over a week ago. I last saw them when we were given a ride by a man to the coast. The Infected arrived, but I dived into a river to escape. I last saw the man taking my girls away. Please," he was almost in tears, "Olivia's eight. I want their case to go forward."

A young black man now stood up in the first row. "My girlfriend and I, we lived in London. We got to a boat quickly, when we heard the news. But she went first. Lovely girl, Zainab. She's got this pretty necklace, a little china dove and her initials on the back. We split up somewhere in the boat area, but when me and some other survivors went here, I found her necklace in the shelter. I asked who the officer got this from and he – he answered two men and a woman dropped them off in Blackpool. They drove off in a van that had had some other women inside."

He looked down slightly, sniffing.

A third man stood up. "We lived in an apartment building in Blackpool. We got on a ferry to the Isle of Man, but my wife, my three kids, two girls and a boy, had to go off because it was full. We managed to live in a cellar. My wife and son and one of the girls went in a train carriage to another seaside town. They went on the only boat leaving Waterloo. The one above Liverpool. They went to Ireland. They called me. I was told the boat to Ireland wasn't registered. I have no idea where they are, except somewhere in Ireland, that's where the officer said the call went from. I just want to know where."

Then Mike took the floor.

"I am Michael Milligan and until six weeks ago, I was in charge of a children's home. My fellow care worker is May-Li Wang. We had to leave after a month and headed north. We were met by some soldiers north of Inverness. They let us stay the night, but in the morning, they took me and the four boys out. They said they wanted to repopulate, as they had no idea how far the infection had spread. They took me and the boys out to this place by a motorway. They left us to die. Three of the boys are on the island now, one got caught on the way here. But I just want them back."

Mike felt both better and worse for having said this. Better because it was getting it off his chest, worse because he knew that it was tough talking about it.

When the meeting was over, the leader, a tall man some years younger than Mike, came up to him.

"That was some speech, Milligan. Don't worry; we've selected six cases to represent us at the UN and yours is one of them, considering how many there were. We just need co-ordinates."

Mike thanked him and went off. He just hoped that the girls would manage to survive until the army went in.

 **A/N: How is everyone finding the story so far? I might put the next chapters up in the next couple of days, but I will try my best.**

 **Reviews?**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 **A/N: I'm trying my best to make this as real as possible. Thing is, these things have happened all over the world and still are, after wars and disasters. So if I get a few more reviews that would be appreciated. Thanks.**

When the children were let out of the attic, it was past midnight.

When Kazima, Floss, Toni and Billie had got back to their room, they saw the girl and the pregnant woman there.

They were holding onto each other, scared. Kazima immediately went over and told the confused women, "It's OK. It's not your fault."

The girl asked, "Who are you? The men said there were others here."

Kazima told them their names and how they got there. As she looked back over at the three younger girls, they were already in bed, tired and just wanting to get the day over with.

The pregnant woman told Kazima, "I'm Tania and this is Britney. Our friend, Maria, where is she?"

Kazima looked down at the ground before she answered, "A very bad place."

Tania then began to tell them how they got here.

 _Tania had lived with her boyfriend in a flat in London. They had been very excited about the birth of Tania's baby; she was five and a half months gone when the disaster happened._

 _When the disaster happened, quite a lot of people where she lived assumed it would be dealt with quickly. But when it emerged that this was a problem, she went to a riverboat with her boyfriend and his parents. His parents were both over fifty-five, so they weren't allowed on board, but Tania and her boyfriend left._

 _The boat was forced back to shore near King's Lynn. It had run out of fuel. When they were there, the infected attacked, forcing Tania and her boyfriend to hide below deck. The boat moved on northward, but stopped near Edinburgh, where Tania met Britney, her grandmother and Maria._

 _They'd stayed in Britney's grandmother's flat for around a month before they picked up a radio signal from the mansion. They'd gone north in Britney's grandmother's hatchback, but while they were in Inverness, Tania's boyfriend had fallen from the top of a supermarket where they had stopped._

 _He had died almost instantly._

 _Refusing to let the infected hurt him, they buried him in an abandoned church down the street._

Then Britney explained what had happened to her.

 _Britney had lived with her grandmother since her mother had died of cancer when Britney was five. Her father had refused to have anything to do with her and lived with his other family in Glasgow._

 _Britney had been at school when the disaster began. In her English class, the headteacher had called everyone to the main hall, where they said everyone had to go home and close all windows._

 _When Britney had returned, she and her grandmother spent ten days with the windows and door shut. Britney had got bored, going outside after a while. She'd seen a few infected on the ground from a balcony. What had been one of her friends was lying on the ground._

 _Britney found that a neighbouring flat had been empty – her neighbours, as far as she knew, were still in Devon. So she asked her grandmother about the food._

 _She didn't want to steal it, neither did her grandmother. But they had to._

 _They'd survived another two weeks before the food ran out. They needed help._

 _Britney's grandmother said a boat had recently left the docks, so maybe there was help there. That night, they'd gone out and raided a newsagents, although Britney really didn't want sweets or biscuits._

 _The notice at the docks said the next boat from Edinburgh was over a month away, so they went back to the flat._

 _On the way, they'd found Maria, who had worked at a local library that they both visited. She'd been stuck in the library the whole time._

 _When they got back, they'd waited a few more days before Tania and her boyfriend arrived._

When Faith, Elektra and May-Li reached the lounge, they saw Maria, weeping, in a pink short-sleeved dress. Her face was stained with tears and her plait was fraying. She looked over for a second at them when they entered with Theo and Dave, then back at Headmaster Rhodes.

Rhodes told the three that entered, "This is Maria. She will be living here."

Then he walked out.

Maria fell to her knees, tugging on Dave's trousers.

"Please, please, please, don't let me live here! Please! Don't hurt me! I'll do anything, anything! Please!"

But she was pulled up, then taken to a room down the corridor, with May-Li. Maria was flung onto the mattress opposite the door, while May-Li was pushed to the mattress beside the door.

The door shut behind them while Maria whimpered. Schmuel grabbed onto May-Li and pushed her down. He was a lot smaller than her, so this was awkward, but he held a wrist each.

Maria kept on struggling and kicking, pushing at Ewan with her feet, shaking her head round, her eyes screwed up in terror. But he slapped her across the face and shrieked at her, "Shut up!"

May-Li managed to get the strength to say, calmly, "Maria, please. Don't fight them, it'll make it worse."

Maria looked over at May-Li, asking, "How?"

May-Li struggled to tell her what she could say, but she managed to tell her. "I asked them not to hurt the younger girls, they haven't since we came. I told them to have me rather than those two other girls, so they aren't hurt as much. I have done all that I can to help."

 **Day Forty-Nine**

As the days passed, with three new residents, it had changed during daytime.

Because Tania was seven months pregnant, she had to avoid doing strenuous tasks, so she attended the schooling. She sat with Britney, who kept looking at the floor and hardly talking.

The men had worked out a 'schedule'. As there were ten of them (Rhodes never took part) and now four women available, the men were assigned a different girl per day. Tee thought it was sick, but she knew the men would get violent if she argued.

Today, she was sitting by the window again, as she saw Leroy, Theo and James in the trees in the large, spacious back garden. They were with Elektra, Jody and Carmen, in pairs and carrying large, wicker baskets. She saw that Jody had dropped her basket of fruit on the ground, to which James was yelling at her for.

Carmen had run up and held Jody close as the younger girl was crying.

This was what the situation had made them.

On the Faroe Islands, Mike was talking with an officer at the hall. He and the five other men who were representing their cases were talking over to some UN visitors about why they thought they mattered.

They seemed to listen thoroughly with Mike's story, especially since this was considered a 'war crime', as they termed it, but said it would need to go through to the proper authorities first.

They told him they had no idea how long it would take, but they would try.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

 **Day Seventy**

Three weeks after Mike sent off the case to the UN, he had a call from Ryan.

"Ryan?" he asked, when he picked the phone up, in the small apartment he had above one of the officer's houses, "What's happened?"

"Look on the TV now. It's got English subtitles at the bottom." Ryan answered.

Mike turned on the TV and watched. It was a video of somewhere in Cumbria, as a reporter stood on a nearby boat and talked to the camera.

"Over two months after the infection broke out and Save the Children has already raised over three million to help the stranded here. Now, as we can see, we are very near the Lake District, where a boat has been set up ready for any survivors that may come. As of yet, no army has gone in to help the estimated ten million left in Britain. Now, we are going to be shown a small set of photos from a certain case of this tragic story."

Then it showed, somehow from the care system, pictures of all the children, then one of May-Li, taken at New year's, when she was leaning on the side, smiling.

The newscaster went on to say that they were trapped on the island, by a group of men that had been revealed to have been a college group that were last seen in the Highlands. Then pictures of all eleven of the men appeared on camera.

The newscaster stated that these men were holding the residents and May-Li prisoner and under the delusion that the world had ended. The men were 'wanted for war crimes'.

Mike smiled slightly. This meant that maybe the army would get to the mansion as soon as they managed to get through. Of course, there were thousands, maybe millions, of others left to rescue. But how could they get there? It was taking a long time.

In the mansion, Theo smiled at Floss. "Congratulations, Floss," he told her, handing her a piece of paper, "you have now passed Year Two."

Floss raised an eyebrow. "But I barely did anything."

Theo put his head to one side. "Well, _my_ Year Two anyway. Don't worry, Floss, I'm doing what I can."

He didn't mention that he barely passed science and completely failed PE. Part of the reason why he had to go on the Highlands trip.

Then he closed his book and told them, "Right, class dismissed, time for dinner."

As the children began to leave, he came over to Tania and helped her up from her chair, "Careful, Miss Tania."

She wrestled away from him, scowling. Britney took her hand and pulled her along.

Downstairs, Kazima saw that Headmaster Rhodes had opened a cardboard box. He was standing by the bathroom and handed something to May-Li, who then sadly walked inside.

Kazima didn't think anything of it until she passed May-Li, Elektra, Faith and Maria's room. May-Li was on the bed, weeping. Kazima knocked and then May-Li looked up from the duvet. She held her arm out and gestured for Kazima to come over. As Kazima did so, May-Li held her close.

May-Li never cried in front of the children if she could help it.

Now, it was worse than ever.

When Kazima went to Tee's room, she then told Tee, Carmen and Jody what was going on.

"May-Li's pregnant," she told the other girls, "they don't know whose baby it is. Her period hadn't arrived, so they made her take a test."

The three girls looked at each other with a mixture of confusion and sadness.

Tee asked, "They have no idea who the father is?"

Kazima nodded. "That's the most idiotic thing – these men should really keep check, because logically, we'll run into situations."

Then Carmen spoke up, "It's definitely not Neil; he's only had Elektra. She told me."

Kazima nodded, then looked in their eyes. "Now that one's pregnant, the men will _really_ go crazy."

 **Day Seventy-Eight**

The young men had used what they could from disassembling planks in the shed to make a duel cot. None of the women said that this was a dreadful place to raise a child, but the men did their best, taking and cutting up spare sheets and turning the curtains into baby grows.

Most of the help had been done by Britney, whose grandmother used to insist the girl did her own mending, as well as Maria, who'd read about this in the library.

The coach had been forced out to go and get bottles and nappies from shops, as well as stealing some food and drink.

May-Li just sat on her bed for hours, looking miserably at the floor or a book. Tee walked past her room when the door was open. She didn't go in. She didn't know how May-Li must feel now.

But now that May-Li was pregnant, the young men found they had one less girl. Kazima was still three months from her sixteenth birthday, so the men had Faith, Elektra and Maria.

Neil still ordered he'd have Elektra. Every night. But the others pulled lots to see which girls they'd have. It was inhumane.

The girls were just treated as if they were prizes, not living, breathing creatures.

Rhodes seemed happy, calling himself 'the father of a new nation'.

Tee thought that was ironic considering he was the only celibate one of the men.

He'd also talked about his expectations over lunch with the men. Tee had heard because she'd been in the nearby bathroom.

Headmaster Rhodes had declared, "I think that we need to start quickly. They're still young, all these women, so we need to have as many as possible. I think…seven for each woman? So, in about, let's say, thirty, thirty-five years, how many of us will be here?"

"A hundred and eighteen, sir." Dave answered.

"I see." Rhodes answered. Then his chair drew up and he left. Tee saw him leaving as she exited the bathroom.

She heard one of the boys mutter, "Of course, you didn't say if he'd even be _alive_ in thirty years."

"Chang!" Ewan scoffed.

Then the Chinese boy answered, "Well, look at him! He's in his fifties. He's expecting us to carry it on, be the fathers of a new village. I suppose by then the dead will all be a bunch of skeletons. We saw some the other day, in the banks by the road. Maybe we can all bury them and live in the houses."

Neil interrupted, "If we get our own places, I'd say we make the lot of them our wives. Ever heard of _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers_?"

Tee felt sick.

Rudy told Neil, "You like the blue-haired one, don't you? What's she called again? Mandy?"

"That's her real name," Neil answered, "but they call her Elektra."

Theo told them, "I'm not really a relationship guy. I just like teaching. The kids are so happy, they're smiley, having fun. No idea what their life is. They think the reason she's pregnant is because she loves one of us."

They were speaking about May-Li's pregnancy. Tee didn't leave where she stood.

Theo explained to the others, "One of the twins thinks that a baby is made when a man and woman love each other. Well, that's all a kid should know about at that age. That Floss kid, she likes the blonde boy. She keeps talking about how she wants to have a house with him. Maybe they'll get one by the river bank."

James asked, "Why did Rhodes tell us to leave them anyway?"

Dave answered him, "Because they're little kids and won't put up a fight. Remember what he said? All women of childbearing age and all boys under thirteen."

Ewan piped up, "Hey, it's unlikely, but more women may arrive. We got the radio up, just in case. And when the dead around here are _actually_ dead, we could drive through and see if any are left alive."

It was too much. Tee went upstairs.

She just knew that this was her future. She was facing a life with these horrible men. Who would one day probably order her to live with one of them.

The thought of having to wake up to one of their faces every day and to be expected to be a 'stay-at-home' mother. This was far worse than any situation with _her_ mother would have been.

For the first time in ages, she allowed herself to think of her mother and sister. All she knew was that they had gone on holiday to the Isle of Jersey, so maybe they were fine now.

It seemed useless. She tried so hard to stay strong, but she had seen far more than any fourteen-year-old should have had.

 **Day Eighty-One**

Mike visited the three boys whenever he could.

Ryan and Mo were living with a couple named Rasmussen, in a house in the south. They seemed to be getting on well, despite the fact that they needed to be home-schooled as they couldn't speak Faroese or Danish. Tyler was living with a family who adopted children from poor and war-torn countries.

But Mike still was campaigning and talking about those stuck at the mansion.

He was doing whatever he could and it seemed dreadful – he managed to have journalists sometimes coming round, he had to repeat his story several times.

He knew the journalists didn't really care. They wanted a big scoop, a story about victims in a deadly war zone. Innocent victims.

But he did see that telling his story to as many people as possible would help the cause. More people would donate to helping to British.

But he just didn't know what to do.

He was trying to settle in with the life here. He read, he went for walks, he could speak a little Danish. But he was struggling to not just steal a boat and go back to the mansion. He would have no idea where he was going, for one. For another, he didn't have any weapons.

He'd be a sitting duck.

He still dreamt about them all the time. He sometimes looked out of his window when he woke up, seeing the sea and thinking about Britain, just beyond those waters.

He knew that it was hard. There were stories about Britain on the news every day, there were survivors here desperate for jobs, the cases being sent off to the UN and talks every day. It was a mess. He just knew that he wanted to try.

At the mansion, Tee was in the orchard, holding a basket while Schmuel picked fruit. Schmuel was roughly the same size as her, so why he insisted on picking and she didn't was confusing for her.

After her basket was filled with apples, pears and plums, Schmuel snapped his fingers, a signal to move back to the building.

Tee asked him, the first time she's spoken since they left the building, "Whose baby do you think May-Li's is?"

Schmuel looked back at her, puzzled. Then he shrugged. "No idea. Not Neil's or Rhodes', that all I know."

Then Tee dared to ask, "Is Headmaster Rhodes…gay?"

Schmuel shrugged again, "Never asked him. Probably."

When they got back to the building, they saw that Theo, James and Rhodes were running frantically upstairs, while Rhodes was pulling Faith along.

Tee asked Carmen, who was right by the door, "What's going on?"

Carmen turned, her face a mixture of fright and worry, "Tania's gone into labour."

 **Day One Hundred and Fifteen**

It had been three weeks since Tania's baby, a little boy, had been born.

All of the first night, everywhere in the mansion, all that could be heard was Tania's screaming. Then silence.

The next morning, the others were told that Tania had had a boy, which she named Anthony, without pronouncing the 't'.

Now, they saw the baby for the first time. When Tee, Faith and Kazima went in to see Tania, who'd been sitting on her bed, holding him, she had been looking down with a little smile.

Anthony was very small, with a little bit of brown hair, his eyes closed and lying silently by his mummy's chest.

Tee had remarked that he was so cute, to which Tania said that he had his father's hair. She'd held him close and lovingly, the first glimmer of hope for Britain that they knew.

 **Day One Hundred and Twenty-Eight**

Faith saw Tania being forced into the living room, in a grey dress, scared and slightly crying.

Headmaster Rhodes had said she'd had enough time. While Kazima and May-Li babysat Anthony, Tania had been forced in the room with Elektra, Faith and Maria.

Tania asked, nervously, as the men began eyeing them like meat, "How many are going to hurt me?"

Faith held her hand as she answered, as easily as she could, "Depends. Neil always has Elektra, but they take turns. Three or four a night is the average."

She knew she wasn't making things much better, but she knew that there was no way Tania could get away from this.

Kazima's birthday was two months away and May-Li was pregnant, so the men had what they had.

It was dreadful. It was revolting. It was dehumanizing.

But the girls had no other way to live.

 **Day One Hundred and Sixty-Eight**

When they were having dinner, Headmaster Rhodes clapped his hands quickly, with a smile on his face.

Everyone looked up from their refried beans and pears. Rhodes smiled across the room and then announced, "It is a special day today. Something that has come at last." He turned to Kazima. "Kazima is sixteen."

There had been so much stress and hardship that Kazima – as well as the others – had birthdays slip their mind.

Kazima looked horrified. But Rhodes stood up to hid full height, menacing and controlling.

"Go and get your dress and meet us in the lounge," he instructed, leaving his plate on the table, "the boys will be excited."

Kazima put her head on the table between her arms, weeping. Tee, sitting next to her, put an arm round her.

Harry piped up, confused, "Why's Mr Rhodes happy?"

But no-one could answer.

While May-Li took the children upstairs, Kazima walked with a heavy heart to the lounge. When she carefully opened the door, she saw Tania, Maria, Elektra and Faith already on the couch.

The dress felt too tight and long. How skinny had the last owner been, Kazima thought as she sat down, not taking her eyes off the men for a moment.

Then Theo started.

"Well, lads?" he asked, turning back to them. The men now looked at Kazima as if she were a new toy.

Leroy put his hands up. "No way, man," he answered, "she looks like my little sister."

Theo replied, "Fair enough."

Rudy and James looked at Kazima and nodded. Theo nodded back.

Kazima was taken up and into the room with the two mattresses. She didn't dare fight – they would hurt her more if she fought.

As Neil took Elektra into the adjoining room, Faith closed her eyes in sorrow.

 _How_ could it have got like this?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

 **Day One Hundred and Ninety-Five**

Mike looked at the reporters flashing outside his house.

As well as the other five members of the 'British Crisis case', his was being featured on news stations worldwide. It had been six months since the disaster began and an estimated nine and a half million people were left in Britain.

They just wanted to get a raise or a sale. He was actually suffering.

In the mansion, Ewan was in the orchard area, holding a vicious-looking riding crop, while Tee and Jody were picking fruit and holding the wicker baskets. Rhodes had thought it would make the men more menacing if they carried riding crops, in case 'the women had ideas'.

Tee and Jody picked the fruit in almost complete silence, just before Ewan put up his hand and made them stop.

The faint whirring of helicopter blades sounded above.

Ewan's face went white and he looked at the girls, before pushing Tee's back. "Move!"

He pushed them towards the shed by the brick wall. They never went in, it was more of a place to store the food. But he shoved the girls in, shutting the door and padlocking it behind him. He pulled the curtain across and surveyed the room.

The only things there, aside from the bags of food, were a bedstead and a shotgun.

Ewan rummaged in one of the bags and pulled out a spool of thin twine. He snapped at Tee, "Tie your friend to the bedpost with her hands behind her back."

As Tee did so, shaking, she heard the helicopter seeming to get lower and lower. It was getting louder, maybe just a few fields away?

Ewan looked out of the window, snapping, "And make sure it's tight!"

When Tee finished, Ewan grabbed her and pushed her against the bedpost, starting to tie her hands as well. Then he stood up by the window, grabbing the rifle in one hand. He was looking out through the curtain, slightly pleased.

"Haven't had targets in ages."

In the mansion, Rhodes, upon hearing the helicopters, ordered everyone to the attic again. This time, the boys went in as well, holding the riding crops.

May-Li, Elektra, Carmen and Floss sat on one of the mattresses, with Toni, Billie and Harry on the dirty floor by them. On the other mattress sat Britney, Tania, Maria, Faith and Kazima, with Tania holding Anthony, soothing him. Rhodes came up last, dragging Finn by his collar. When they shut the door, Rhodes held a handgun by Finn's head.

"One word and I _will_ shoot."

May-Li wouldn't put it past him. Harry and Finn were less valuable to Rhodes than the girls.

She nodded and then gestured to Floss and Harry, pulling them close. The twins held each other's hands and tried not to cry.

May-Li still listened, however, especially as the voices came from underneath her.

" _You sure this was the right address?"_

" _Yeah, the bald guy said outside Invergordon. The maps show it's here."_

" _What they do to him, again?"_

" _Said he and the boys were taken somewhere near here to be shot. This is within a distance from where they were picked up, the only large building. Where is everyone?"_

" _Well, the food's here, the shower's recently been used, there's dirty plates in the sink. They're probably still here."_

" _OK, get a move on_."

Soldiers. Or at least, people who could help. May-Li almost wept with relief and frustration. They must have been talking about Mike. It could mean he was alive.

For months, she'd thought that no-one knew they were here.

If Mike had got word out, it could mean they had a chance. Someone to fight back.

They waited until all the noise seemed to have gone from below.

May-Li dared to hiss to Rhodes, "You failed. Mike's alive."

Rhodes looked slightly ashamed. How dreadful, May-Li thought, that this was the first time he looked like that, despite all he'd done.

Rhodes mumbled, "We left them alone and when we came back, we thought the infected took them."

May-Li smiled slightly, overjoyed and finally feeling as if she was up one on Rhodes.

In the shed, Ewan was looking out. Tee and Jody felt helpless, knowing that the longer Ewan was here, the more likely it was that he would end up shooting someone.

Then he smiled, a disgusting, nasty smile. Tee felt a shiver go down her spine. He looked back at the two girls before standing up and going to the door.

He turned back, "I've got them covered. They're just twenty-five feet away, I can hit them easily." Then he asked, "Do I have to gag you?"

Tee shook her head, while Jody just slumped.

Ewan told them, "Good, because if they did hear you, I'd shoot them as they were shocked."

He left, locking the door behind him.

Almost immediately, as Tee looked to the ground in despair, Jody stood up.

Tee looked up in surprise at her, asking, "When did you get free?"

Jody answered, bending down to undo Tee, "Some minutes ago. My brothers used to tie me up when they left me alone in the house. Didn't trust me."

Tee grimaced at what that must have been like for Jody, before telling her, "I think we need to warn them."

She stood up and looked at Jody, expecting her to do something.

But Tee realised Jody hadn't thought beyond this point, so she walked over to the door and listened. Jody looked out of the window and saw that Ewan was hiding in the long grass about ten feet from the soldiers.

Then Tee screamed in shock.

Ewan had used his gun to hit six of the seven soldiers. The last one turned in surprise and began aiming at Ewan, who kept ducking and rolling in the long grass, before firing a shot and hitting the last one.

Tee burst into sobs, falling to her knees and unable to control herself. Jody ran up to her and told her, "It's fine." It was all she could think of.

In the attic, they heard the shots. Rhodes gestured to Rudy to pull up a blind. Rudy did so and Rhodes looked down at the ground.

"Six soldiers on the ground," he told everyone, smiling horribly, "four more running out. This is good." Then he turned to some of the men. "Neil, Dave, Theo, Schmuel, get the guns and make sure they don't come up here."

The men nodded and slowly opened the trapdoor to go down.

Harry had managed to bury his head in May-Li's t-shirt and was howling. Floss was gripping on, her small eyes filled with silent tears. Toni and Billie had gone up to Faith, who was holding her arms round them. Tania was soothing Anthony.

May-Li asked Rhodes, "What are you going to do when more people come? People are looking for us, Rhodes, there are more people out there. The disaster is just confined to Britain, but you can't realise that! We're not the only women on Earth; you don't have to hurt us. People know we're here, so they can take us any day. What are you going to do, huh? You can't hurt us because they _know_ we've been here and they'll charge you with everything."

May-Li could hardly believe she'd said that. Everyone was staring at her. Rhodes looked down for a bit and raised his head, showing a massive, horrid smile. He then strode over and stood over her. He answered, "Thing is, this infection's pretty bad. With so many people coming to rescue you, if they just disappear then people will think they've been caught by the infection. No-one's going to look anyway on the island any more. So, maybe I won't be able to repopulate the world, but I'm eager to repopulate Britain."

He then went over to the blind again with a leering smile, shutting it.

It was clear then, May-Li knew, that he didn't care.

Ewan opened the door again, to see Tee crouched by the window and Jody standing over her, her arms round her.

Ewan looked surprised, then shouted, "I thought you'd stay still!"

Then he slammed the door again, locking it. He carried on yelling at the girls, towering high above them, not caring that they were weeping.

Then he heard voices outside. The soldiers.

Ewan turned back to the girls. "Right, you two, sit. Now!"

Tee and Jody, holding hands, sat on the bed and looked, in despair, at Ewan as he aimed the gun at the door. Then a soldier came in, crashing the door down.

Dust flew everywhere, making the girls cough.

Then the soldier looked from Ewan to the girls. He asked, calmly, "Can you let those girls go now, please?"

Ewan smiled at him. "Not likely."

The soldier ordered, "Let them go!"

Ewan sniggered slightly. "These girls? They're mine!"

Then he shot at the soldier. He swung and toppled over on his back. Ewan swung back to the girls, dragged Tee's arm and began dragging her out.

"Now!" He snapped at them, pulling Tee out of the door and forcing Jody to follow.

He snarled at them like a dog as he pushed them through the orchard, whipping the crop at their legs if he thought they were too slow. When they reached the mansion, Ewan demanded, "I'm here! Open the door!"

Rudy opened the door. Tee and Jody noticed he was covered in blood, none of which was his own.

Ewan put a hand on Tee's back and forcibly shoved her in. tee didn't want to think about what happened to any other soldiers. Or even if those Ewan shot were still alive.

They heard loud thumping and saw that everyone was coming down the staircase.

Rhodes was at the lead and when he reached the bottom of the stairs, he folded his hands together and surveyed everyone.

"Well," he announced, "it seems that there are others. That it is just Britain that is destroyed. We need to move from here, into the village. Some of us will stay here, some of us will find houses in the village and beyond. Try to run? Nope. You'll find the infected or die of exposure. So it seems as if you need to be here. Or you could end up in lots of trouble."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

 **Day Three Hundred**

It had been four months since Rhodes learnt the rest of the world was alive. They still hadn't left the mansion. They'd all felt a bit awkward at the idea of moving into houses where people had died, even the men, so they'd stayed put at the house.

By now, all the younger children could work out that something really was wrong, because the men didn't want anyone to know they were here. That they _wanted_ the women for something.

Now, Rhodes had ordered that the men draw lots. To figure out who would live with whom. Neil had refused, saying Elektra was all his, to which Rhodes had, horrifically, agreed.

Two months earlier, just after Christmas, Carmen had turned sixteen. To her horror, she had been forced back in the orange dress and, despite her pleading, was used by the men.

May-Li was now seven months gone and it showed, with her t-shirt and trousers barely covering her belly.

Now, Rhodes had ordered everyone to pack.

Apparently, Theo, Will, Schmuel and he were staying at the mansion, while the other men would choose who lived with them.

It was revolting. It was like one of those documentaries Tee used to see about animals, with the males fighting over the females.

The men drew lots at dinner.

Rhodes had announced, "We will draw the lots to see who has the oldest, the pretty May-Li, who will soon have the first child of the mansion."

Tee was confused by that, as this didn't include Tania, but maybe he meant that one of his men was the father.

The six pulled out. The short straw meant they had May-Li.

The men compared. Dave.

He smiled slightly, before nodding at Rhodes. Harry whispered to Tee, "I'm not _stupid_ ; I _know_ this isn't how normal people marry."

Tee looked down and him and answered, "They're not married." Harry argued, an eyebrow raised, "But they'll live together."

Tee simply couldn't understand this either. May-Li looked defeated. But only defeated in that she'd now got fed up. She wanted independence again.

The next lot, for Maria. A few of the men made eyes at Maria, who sneered back. The one who won was Leroy.

The next two lots went. James 'got' Tania (who then cried when she thought about Anthony's father); Ewan was to live with Kazima.

The last two went up – for Carmen, for Tee.

Tee had been surprised, since she wasn't sixteen yet – in fact, she'd turned fifteen at the end of October. But Rhodes told her just before the last two straws were drawn, "Theresa, whoever has you will not do anything until your sixteenth birthday. I have their word."

Unlikely. Even if he _did_ have their word, they'd probably go back on it.

The last lot were drawn for Carmen. Li Chang and Rudy. They drew the straws.

Li Chang smiled slightly when he drew. He would 'have' Carmen.

Tee faced Rudy, a feeling of dread rising in her stomach, having to imagine the horrible future she'd end up with, with him. Having to cook dinner every night for him, having to wake up to him every morning.

Rhodes stood to his full height. "Well then. Everyone will pack and we will look for homes. When we have spotted one, we will drive back and state which one. We may go farther than the village if needs be. Now, I expect everyone will pack their things and leave first thing."

When Tee was lying in bed, facing the ceiling, she did her best to ignore what everyone was saying. Jody had asked, "Do – do you think _anyone_ will try and look for us?"

Carmen wiped her nose and answered, barely able to look up, "I don't think they're even trying. All that with the soldiers, the men said they set fire to the helicopter and pushed it over a cliff. Even if they're able to find anything, they'll think the infected attacked them or that they couldn't find us and had an accident."

"They won't rule out the men," Jody pointed out, but Carmen answered, "It's too much of a risk. They won't try. It's horrid."

Tee sat up in her bed and looked over to Floss, on the bed next to her. "Floss," she began, "you do understand that this isn't how people move in together?"

Floss answered her, "When I grow up, I'm moving in with Harry. He won't hurt me."

Tee smiled for what seemed the first time in weeks. Floss was smart, she knew how things worked. She planned it out.

 **Day Three Hundred and One**

They went off in the minibus at first light.

Tee and Rudy, Neil and Elektra, May-Li and Dave, Maria and Leroy.

The others were going off in the old college coach. They were going later because they needed to figure out how to put in Anthony's car seat.

But Rudy sat next to Tee for the entire drive. She closed her eyes and grimaced at this. His thick dreadlocks kept falling onto her face and shoulders and irritating her. It could have been worse; Neil was sitting by Elektra and forcing his arm round her, trying to kiss her.

They'd looked at some of the houses first, but the men were picky – too small, too near the sea, too high up, terrible view. Honestly, they found something wrong with everything.

They went further north and soon, Rudy smiled as they reached a motel. "This is more like it!" he cheered, as they went in the car park.

Armed with guns, just in case there was a slim chance there may be infected, they gingerly stepped through the front room. Rudy grinned. "I like this. Several rooms, huge kitchen, might even have some decent stuff."

Leroy replied, "Remember what Rhodes said; any food, bring it back."

Then Rudy opened the doors to a room he'd found on the map. "Hey, hey!" he cheered. It was the suite.

Two white beds in the first room, with a clean bathroom next door. A television (though they doubted it would work). A cupboard, still with food in.

Leroy nodded and then Rudy sighed and began packing a small bag with Mars bars, crisps and wine bottles. Leroy checked the sell-by date on all of them and told them they had a few months left.

That made Rudy ask if that meant they could have them now.

Leroy found a can of crisps with a week left and opened it, handing the can to Tee.

Tee was surprised at this gesture and slowly put her hand forward and had some. They weren't quite stale, but they felt so good after weeks of plums and boiled leeks.

Dave found one of the other rooms quite nice, as did Leroy, who also liked the kitchen. Neil acted as if he and Elektra were already a couple, calling her 'darling' while they looked around the place, saying he thought a first-room floor with a view of the sea looked good.

The girls couldn't argue. The fact was, these men controlled them, though they had to try. At the very least, they'd see each other each day.

The coach had managed to find some places down south.

They'd travelled for several hours, but eventually they found a place near the Thames. They'd found five houses on a nice-looking street in Essex, but none of them knew what would come soon.

 **A/N: I'm so sorry I have to cut short there; I've been really busy, plus I have a bereavement. I hope you enjoyed the chapter so far and tell me what you think.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

 **Day Three Hundred and Four**

It would take a lot more time to prepare for a trip to Essex, so the men had decided to wait a week. However, something else had happened during that time.

May-Li went into labour.

For three days and nights, she had constantly screamed. Tee or Elektra or Faith had stood outside her door in case of news.

In the bathroom, Tania, Maria and Kazima were assisting with the water-birth. But May-Li had never known so much agony – at least, physical – in her life.

Now, she'd had the baby.

Tee and the others were told during school hours, by Theo, that May-Li had delivered a day. The boy was to be named Lee.

Tee just hoped that the men's stupid idea would at least be under control, especially if no other babies had been born by the time she or Jody were sixteen.

 **Day Three Hundred and Sixty-Five**

A year, the newspapers were saying. A whole year under the infection.

From the Faroe Islands, Mike read it with dread. A whole year that had been wasted. The children should have been growing up, living elsewhere. Kazima and Carmen would now be sixteen. Tee would be sixteen in November.

He just hoped that they were still alive. Whether they would be better off dead if they didn't have to suffer, he didn't know.

He had seen Ryan, Mo and Tyler a few times. Ryan was taller, his hair darker and he had learnt some Faroese. Mo was skinnier, had new glasses and could now speak a few Danish phrases. Tyler could say hello in ten different languages and goodbye in eight. That was due to his foster parents being practically a refugee shelter.

They had all been interviewed (without Mike's knowledge) about life in a new country and whether they thought they'd see the girls again. Their addresses hadn't been released, but everyone knew who they were.

Mike was furious. But he knew he had to stay calm.

What he was doing, however, was a sneaky plan. He would rescue the girls himself. He should have done it from the beginning. He would save them.

At the mansion, Rhodes insisted that four of them would go down and set the house up. He ordered that Neil and Leroy go 'with their wives'.

Elektra felt sick at that. He was most certainly not in charge of her!

But Neil, Elektra, Leroy and Maria were in the coach, travelling down, just after sunrise.

They stopped off at three petrol stations, taking packets of biscuits, fizzy drinks, crisps, a few chocolate bars and for some odd reason, some lettuce that had been left behind. But even though Neil kept hanging the chocolate near Elektra's face, she refused to budge.

Neil shrugged, "Eh, doesn't matter anyway. When you're a perfect wife and mother, you'll listen to me."

Elektra made a face. This disgusted her.

But when they arrived at the house, they noticed that the river, which had been about twenty feet in front of the house, was now swamped over the street, spreading a disgusting muddy pool over the tyres.

Neil groaned, "Hey, Leroy, can you get past this?"

Leroy made a face as he drove through the slew of thick mud. "I doubt it. We can't go down this road, that would be suicide."

They managed to turn round, but then another car fell out from a dust-covered garage nearby and crashed on them. The coach turned over three times before landing in the sludge.

All four screamed.

Elektra didn't know how she did it, but she'd managed to push a window open and broken the latch, so she could pull herself out.

The coach was being pulled quickly down a hill, before slowing by a tree. Elektra took a chance and leapt high.

She just managed to grab it and swung, her legs kicking underneath her into the filthy water.

But she strained, grunting, as she pulled herself up onto the branch, clinging on for dear life.

Standing on a windowsill further down, she noticed Maria gripping onto a drain. She was standing at a second-storey window, but the water was just less than an inch below her. It was terrifying.

As Elektra looked, her blood ran cold. She could see some bodies. Rotting flesh. The infected. The dead bodies were being dragged down the water.

She didn't know if putting her foot in the water would cause her to become infected, but she didn't dare risk anything.

She just looked across and saw the water pounding through.

It was several hours before they were found, by Neil and Leroy in an orange raft they found at what had been a seaside hotel. Elektra and Maria struggled against them, refusing to get in, but Neil argued, "Just get in! You're dead if we leave you, anyway."

He was still frowning and furious when they grabbed a large car on a nearby hilltop. He shoved Maria, then Elektra, in the back seat and put the car in gear.

Elektra and Maria, bloodied, bruised and wet, looked helplessly at each other. Even being in a flood was comparable to being these men's wives.

 **Day Three Hundred and Ninety**

Tee sat by the window again. The moving out had been a bad idea, but Rhodes had substituted for that. While she, Elektra, May-Li and Maria had gone to the hotel, the others had moved into rooms at the mansion.

Tee's room had been redone when she came. The curtains were taken down, the television locked away and the bath plugged up. But she still got scared whenever she heard Rudy's voice, in case he wanted something.

She had just less than four months. And even then, that was if Rudy didn't go against his word and hurt her early.

This just made her feel terrible. How could she have to live for the rest of her life in a disused motel with children popping out? Rhodes had just said the other day that they would stop as soon as each of them had ten children.

That meant a hundred and thirty kids to care for. Maybe more if other women turned up.

How could she manage to do all that? Rudy had argued, saying technically _he'd_ be doing more, trying to grow and steal food, to support them and defend them from anyone who may try and 'steal' them, such as soldiers or the Red Cross.

Her 'duties', he told her, repeating word for word what Rhodes had told them, were having babies, cooking and making sure the house was tidy. Not that Tee didn't like cooking or eventually having children, but she wanted so much more than to be just a giggly, 1950s housewife.

At least he wasn't hitting her every day, like Neil did to Elektra.

They'd got some news from the mansion around a week after May-Li gave birth – Faith was about six weeks gone. Earlier today, Tee and Rudy had gone back to the mansion to get some food that had been found in another village, as well as clothes and some cooking utensils.

Tee had seen Faith, standing by the main door, looking utterly done for. Then Schmuel had stood by her, putting an arm around her.

According to Faith, when Tee had asked, no-one knew who the father was.

At dinner, the men had sat down, whilst the girls had done their best. They'd spent almost two hours rushing around the filthy kitchen – indeed, there were still grease stains over the floor where some boiling oil had been thrown, presumably at an infected – and there had been little to go on.

Eventually, they'd managed to make bread rolls (with the recipe books and May-Li and Maria supervising), and some tomato soup with fresh tomatoes.

As Tee finished it off with a sprig of parsley, they took the bowls out.

Neil had frowned when Elektra presented him with his bowl and bread rolls. He looked up, disgusted and annoyed, and had demanded, "Why isn't it a bit more filling? I wanted something filling, you stupid cow!"

Elektra looked terrified, which was a very nasty look for Elektra, then paced back and stammered. Neil drew to his full height and then used his riding crop (which was attached to his belt) to beat her three times round her back.

Then he told her, "Do something nice next time."

Dave, Leroy and Rudy seemed to enjoy the meal, saying it was better than the ridiculous uncooked meals that Rhodes had insisted on recently, with Rudy telling Tee that she cooked almost as good as his mother.

But Tee dreaded the day she'd turn sixteen. It wasn't just her; what about Jody? Or Britney? Or even worse, Floss and the twins?

She knew the awful future that was right now being acted out. But she knew that no matter what happened to her, she would try her best to escape this hell.

 **Day Four Hundred and Forty**

Mike had had enough. He had talked to every officer he could think of and asked them if he could get some weapons to fight back.

Nobody had listened to him, causing him to ask everywhere on the island for over three months. Now, he had just got some – and he could manage to borrow from an old collection this guy up north, who had _far_ too much stuff hoarded from wars across the world, had were a few hand grenades and a spear.

He was told that this was all he could get, but Mike was sure there was enough somewhere.

As he walked back to his flat, the officer that had stood on the dock on the very first day approached him.

"What do you want?" Mike asked him, fed up.

The officer smiled at him, "I know you want some weapons. Follow me. I'll get you some."

Mike had no choice; when he followed him to a storage locker a few streets away, he watched the officer open the door.

Mike's eyes grew wide as he saw what was there.

Rifles, hand grenades, bayonets, handguns and an axe, lined up against the walls and on the walls and on metal tables.

Mike was lost for words. The officer slapped a hand on his shoulder and told Mike, "Let's get started."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

 **Day Four Hundred and Sixty-Five**

Mike had spent twenty-five days training at a base ground in rural Faroe. The officer had told him he needed practice first. Otherwise, he would be a civilian with a weapon and, revenge attack or not, it would look pretty illegal.

So Mike was to spend a month training, then another three weeks at an SAS mission in Denmark before going on a boat to Invergordon with about twenty men.

The helicopter, the officer reported, had been found after three days after it floated into the Orkneys. It was a complete wreck. But they'd got fingerprints inside that didn't match the soldiers. The infected, as far as anyone knew, (since one had been captured after six weeks, kept in a lab in Manchester and examined) often had bloodied fingerprints.

Plus, it was scanned and was proven to belong to Rhodes; the college had a fingerprint system at the cafeteria instead of paying money.

Now Rhodes, if he was caught, faced more charges.

Another helicopter had flown over four days ago, Mike had been told, as he'd sat down for dinner that evening. It had taken aerial photographs.

One, which had been done with a close-up lens, across the small orchard by a shed, had four figures. A man, a woman and two children.

Mike didn't recognise the woman with the brown hair, but, even though the photo was blurry, was certain the children were Toni or Billie and Jody.

Now, as he lay on his bunk, he looked at the calendar on the wall, working out how long it had been since he'd seen them.

The date was 4th June.

He'd been without them for almost a year.

He'd promised to get them back, and now he would.

 **Day Four Hundred and Sixty-One**

Rudy had just come back in through the front glass doors. Tee, who had come out of her room, looked at him expectedly.

Rudy, Leroy and Dave had gone out 'hunting'. They'd visualized themselves as strong warriors with spears searching for a wild animal. In reality, it was a bunch of men, hardly more than boys, with three shotguns and a knife tied to a broom handle.

And the 'wild animal' they had apparently caught was a cat.

As the eight of them sat round the table with the boiled cat (shaved, sliced and thrown in a saucepan) none of them found it very appetizing.

In the end, May-Li had offered to try and cook some chips she'd found when they'd raided the nearby town.

Neil slammed his hands down on the table and stood up.

"Well," he addressed them, "it appears that the hunter-gatherer ideas have failed. It seems we will have to be an army."

He then demonstrated by opening the window and pointing out, "In those villages and towns beyond, we could get rich food. Or at least recipe books with tasty recipes. I'm tired of having Yorkshire pudding every night, Elektra."

Elektra stuck her tongue out when his back turned. Funny as it was, it was unfortunately the best attack she could give to Neil.

Then Neil announced, "After a year, the sell-by dates are running low. But we can find something somewhere. Maybe a farm, or somewhere where the animals still breed. Capture a cow or a pig and we can have fresh burgers and bacon. Cooked by the womenfolk, of course."

Tee could tell he'd been reading Theo's books again; she had no idea his vocabulary was that high.

He smiled horribly at all of them, before gripping onto Elektra's arm with both hands and calling to nobody in particular, "Better go now; my wife and I will be off to our room."

Rudy coughed and pointed out, "Actually, we're not legally binding in any form."

Tee guessed _he'd_ been reading Theo's things as well.

Neil rolled his eyes and told them, "Come on, it's not as if Rhodes' going to do a ceremony."

Rudy held a finger up and answered, "But if we _do_ have one, we can refuse to divorce, so even if they do get us, legally, they'll be our wives."

May-Li, Maria and Tee looked at each other in silent horror, while Elektra let her body go loose and stared up at the repulsive man who insisted having her as his wife.

He smiled nastily, as he answered, "Either Rhodes does the deed, or we see if any priests or anything are left alive."

Leroy told him, "But that could take weeks, maybe months."

Neil waved a finger, "You're forgetting the radio's still up. Anyone could come. Probably on their way now. Oh, we need to put out lights. Put the outside lights on all night, turn them red in day. That should attract anyone."

If Tee hadn't thought it would get worse, it had.

 **Day Four Hundred and Sixty-Two**

Jody was outside the study when she heard Rhodes and Neil talking. She'd been coming back from the schoolroom and Theo was having, as he called it when the children asked, a 'naptime'. In reality, he was drinking.

Jody had begun to notice this after Theo kept going down to the wine cellar. He kept coming to school hours with his tie messed up and his hair a mess, slurring his speech and swearing at the children, leaving it up to Jody or Britney to read a few pages from a book and using chalk, while Theo fell asleep on the desk and threw up out of the window.

Since it was the room next to Will's, he had complained.

Jody listened in earnest to what Rhodes and Neil were saying.

"We'll simply refuse to divorce," Neil was insisting, "so we'll need everyone."

She heard Rhodes get out of his chair and answer, with glee, "Well, the good news is we found three more people on the radio. They're coming up from Northumbria. And one's a priest."

Jody couldn't believe her ears. They wanted to legally marry them! She thought for a second about exactly _how_ many of the men would 'marry'. If it was all the boys, then that included her and Britney as well.

Jody wasn't going to turn sixteen until late December. Britney hadn't even reached fourteen yet. It disgusted her.

Even worse, how many would actually go through with it? It would be breaking the promise. Were they really sex-mad young men, becoming desperate from the lack of civilization? Or just obeying Rhodes in fear of otherwise?

Plus, she suspected Theo was a closeted gay. The others had all told her that Theo had seemed 'unsteady' half the time.

That made her think. Had he known that beforehand, or now, with all the women around, had he realised?

Also, what about when the younger children grew up? Harry was only twelve, the girls were younger. Would they make him choose?

She had no idea what to do. Rhodes had gone crazier. As if he wasn't mad enough with power anyway.

The worst part? He was the last remaining authority in the whole of Britain. Since the last man in charge was a manipulative, cruel animal, what did that mean for their future?

 **Day Four Hundred and Sixty-Three**

The men ambushed the small, black car when it arrived at the entrance. Three occupants, a priest named Father James, who was a tall, black man with a rather skinny frame; a young nun called Sister Daisy; and a small, frail, old nun named Sister June.

Jody and Faith watched from the window as the minibus drove off with Sister June into the wilderness, to where they had left Mike and the others to die and failed, where Britney's grandmother had been taken.

When Jody and Faith went into the last bedroom, with just one small bed and a wall light, they saw Daisy on the bed, trying hard not to cry.

"Hello?" Jody asked politely, "Are you all right?"

Daisy looked up and smiled sweetly at them. "Hello children," she managed to smile, despite the circumstances, "who are you?"

Faith introduced themselves and they walked in. Daisy's eyes widened when she saw Faith's growing belly.

She carefully asked, "So, err, are you...?"

Faith nodded, telling her, "Three months."

Daisy nodded, "Congratulations." But Faith looked down at the floor, so Jody answered Daisy, "She, err, wasn't exactly..."

Daisy put her lips together and nodded, "I understand."

Then she asked, "How many of you are here?"

Jody told her about when they'd arrived, when Mike and the boys were taken off, when Tania, Britney and Maria arrived, Tania's pregnancy, May-Li's pregnancy, when the others had been forced to go off.

Even though Daisy faced a dreadful future, she seemed to be calm and understanding about it. Maybe it was being a nun. Maybe she was screaming inside.

Daisy sighed then and told the girls about what had happened to her.

 _The disaster had happened on her twenty-sixth birthday. Being in an older nunnery in the north of England, she and the others had been able to shut the doors and eat very little._

 _After a year, however, with people sometimes stopping off for a night or to restock, they'd run out of food._

 _Of the eight nuns, four had gone to find food. Only one had returned, close to death._

 _It was evident that it was dangerous now. They'd either die inside the stone walls or die trying to get food._

 _Sister June and the Mother Superior had agreed that the second option was better. They'd driven upwards in the black car and found Father James in Yorkshire, still boarded up in his church, with tunnels underneath attached to the village, left over from the sixteenth century._

 _However, they refused to steal from the dead. They were too religious. Instead, they ate natural food, mostly berries and apples, before Mother Superior had an incident with a liver from a dead dog._

 _The four of them had managed to find a military base, complete with radio. A month later, they'd found Rhodes on the radio._

 _The last nun, Sister April, had died the day before, whilst coming up. She'd been eating and drinking the wrong things, mostly polluted water, so she'd just quickly died._

 _Now, Daisy was determined to help others, even if she couldn't help herself. That was partly why she'd joined the convent; after spending her entire life in care, she'd wanted to help others_.

That afternoon, Rhodes took the car out with Theo, James, Tania and Britney, to the town beyond Invergordon.

They were looking for bridal gowns. Rhodes had insisted going the whole way.

Tania and Britney were pushed into a bridal store with a rusted door, that obviously hadn't been used for months, blowing dust away and opening wardrobes.

The men came in with them, before throwing some keys to them and opening the changing room door.

When the girls went in, Britney sagged to the floor, holding a dress in her arms. Tania put the other ones down and put an arm around her.

"Hey," Tania was soothing her, "look, you'll be fine."

Britney still sniffed. "I'm thirteen. I can't do this. If I ever marry, I want it to be for love, not some sick freak. Besides, I'm just a kid."

Tania reassured her, "I don't want to do this either. But I wanted a life for Anthony when I got pregnant, so I'm doing the best thing I can with this."

Britney and Tania both knew that this was still flimsy, but they had to do whatever they had in their power. They needed someone to help.

Otherwise, they were just dolls.

That night, Kazima, Carmen, Maria and Daisy were in the lounge. Daisy was staring around, asking, "So, what happens now?"

She was still in her nun's outfit, while the others were in their usual 'love dresses'. Kazima answered, trying so hard not to make eye contact, "The men used to come in and...pick who they wanted. They sometimes took lots or had one of us on a certain day. Then they insisted we move in with them, so our 'husbands' will have us. You, on the other hand..."

She trailed off. Daisy squeezed her eyes tight, her facial expression unchanged. "What will happen?" she asked, without any emotion in her voice, desperate to not look scared.

Carmen mumbled, before speaking louder, "They used to pick us like a buffet. May-Li would often offer herself instead of us. That was before she got pregnant."

Daisy nodded, slowly. "I understand that. I think your friend is very brave, doing that. It is also possibly a reason why she became pregnant first."

The door opened. Rhodes strode in, in his usual boisterousness, followed by Theo, Will, James, Schmuel, Li Chang and Ewan came in. All eyed Daisy.

Carmen asked, curious, "Aren't you technically in relationships?"

Ewan shrugged, "Hey, many men go and pay for a hooker."

Daisy interrupted, plainly, "If that was meant to be a joke, it wasn't a very funny one."

Then he scowled at her. "Hey, nunnie, don't argue back. Anyway, we're going to have turns. This should be fun, I've never had a nun before."

Daisy turned to look back at the three, nervous girls, before she stood up and faced them, stern, expressionless, right in the eye. "I will, tonight and every time, without a word. Under one condition. You do _not_ make these poor young women feel as if they are second-rate compared to you, simply because you are holding them hostage. Treat them as human beings, you disgusting animals, instead of objects."

The men simply looked at each other, confused and startled.

But Rhodes barked, "Get on with it!"

Daisy's eyes widened as Will pulled at her arm to the room down the corridor. But she didn't struggle; she went quietly and silently.

It was obvious that it was now harder for the men to enjoy themselves.

 **Day Four Hundred and Sixty-Four**

The minibus arrived early, not long after dawn, with the sky still a light pink. The ceremony was held in the front hall, the largest room in the mansion.

A few chairs had been set out for the children, Theo and Will but Rhodes had gone all-out. He'd raided the wardrobes in the master bedroom, before taking a nice, firm, black suit and handing the other, not-as-good ones for the 'grooms'.

The bridal dresses were just as bad. May-Li's had been too small, they hadn't been able to find pregnant size, so Faith's was too big, Tee was so small for hers that it was trailing on the ground.

At the end of the hall, Father James was standing anxiously, with Rhodes by him, holding a shotgun. Father James seemed to be mumbling something under his breath, though whether it was a prayer for the women or whether he would be able to get out of this, no-one knew.

Floss, Toni, Billie, Harry, Finn, Jody, Britney, Anthony and Lee were on the chairs; the boys' hair neatly parted and the girls holding little bunches of flowers. Buttercups and daisies, but it was, as Rhodes told them before the ceremony, better than nothing.

Then Dave and May-Li had their go. Father James sighed, realising the absurdity and horror of all of this, began monotone.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, in this time of disaster and turmoil, to unite these six young men and six," he paused on the word, "young women. Now, David Goss, do you take May-Li Wang?"

May-Li looked into Dave's eyes, knowing this was her future. She had tried _so_ hard, offering herself instead of the girls, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not. She'd become pregnant with the first of likely many children, but she had used up every method she could to make sure the girls were not hurt.

She had no choice.

After the wedding, everyone went into the dining room, where the white tablecloth was laid out and everybody sat down.

They hadn't bothered with rings, just a kiss. Neil had taken pleasure.

The wedding meal was rather grand compared to the usual diet of fruit and freshly caught fish. The first course was garlic baguette (homemade baguette with garlic sauce), second course was cheeseburger and fries (both homemade), pudding was cherry cheesecake and miniature poppy seed muffins (both homemade). The drinks were wine or lemon-flavoured water.

Theo and Will were still covered in flour and cream cheese.

No-one felt like eating, especially as burger had been on the menu when they'd arrived, but the meal was still a much better variation.

During the meal, Tania had to put her hand forward to stop Anthony grabbing at the wine.

"No, darling, that's for grown-ups," she told him, gently pushing him back in his seat. James smiled at him and told him, "Hey kid, you've got a new daddy now."

Tania quickly stood up and leered over him, scowling.

"How DARE you call yourself that?" she shouted, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look at her. Even Rhodes looked unsettled. Tania then picked up Anthony – although, at fourteen months, he could walk – and stormed out of the room.

Rhodes simply told James, right in the eye, "Don't worry, she'll get used to you."

Tee couldn't believe how cruel he was being. Instead of comforting Tania over losing her only love, he was telling her new husband that she would settle down!

 **Day Four Hundred and Seventy-Four**

Married life was awkward, Tee found. Making Rudy's meals, waiting while the men went out with rifles to look in nearby villages, looking anxiously at the box of pregnancy tests in the makeup table's drawer.

Not that Rudy had done anything. He told her that he was a man of his word. Only Tee had less than a month left before she turned sixteen. Then she would likely get pregnant soon.

She then thought about their future. When they reached the menopause, would the men kill them? Or let them live as housewives, while they went off with younger girls? She didn't want to face it.

Sometimes, she passed May-Li's room and heard her cooing at Lee, or giving him a children's book taken from a village library and point out what everything was. Despite all this trouble and pain and mental torture, it seemed that Lee was a good thing – maybe the only good thing – to have come out of this.

Tee remembered that until 1991, in the UK, a man could hurt his wife even if she refused. How many of her ancestors were the results of that? Was _she_ in the direct linage?

She didn't want to think about this. But she kept imagining a future where Theo, with a receding hairline and the same, over-patched clothes, at the blackboard, teaching her children about 'safe sex'.

It was a weird, comforting and repulsive dream all at the same time.

The men sure had fun ransacking the villages. They brought back all sorts of weird things – china, chairs, dresses, shoes, VHS and players, gardening tools, a doll's house from a shop, rugs, chess sets, a handbag and a box of jewellery.

When they'd come back today, laughing and enjoying themselves, they threw the objects down on the dining table. Leroy laughed, "Take what you want!"

Tee looked and held up a strange pair of pale blue earrings. "Earrings?" she asked, before Rudy put an arm round her, making her uncomfortable.

"Come on!" he smiled, "Maybe you could have them at a birthday or something."

"But why would we need earrings when there's nothing to celebrate?" she asked, plainly.

He scowled. "You're no fun."

Neil held up a guitar. "Stole this from some guy's flat. He wasn't much older than us, according to the dusty photos. His skeleton and a note were on the bed."

Maria told him, "That's sick. You can't steal from dead people!"

Neil shrugged. "So do you, coming up here."

Maria gestured to the items and answered sharply, "But you stole from a guy's _flat_ after coming across his body!"

Among the strange items were a few stuffed toys, which made Tee grimace.

Rudy saw what she was looking at and comforted her, "We found them in a charity shop. I don't think their owners miss them. Most likely they were stuff thrown out when a kid grew up."

May-Li took a tiny, brown dog and told everyone, "I think Lee would like this. He hasn't really got anything to hold at night."

It seemed as if the men just stole without caring what it was. They'd even taken school textbooks, which also made Tee feel unwell.

 **Day Four Hundred and Seventy-Five**

The next day's haul was worse. Even more rubbish with no need.

They'd taken a van this time and ended up looking like apocalyptic removal men. Two mattresses (absurd as they lived in a motel), a juicer, a toaster, coat-hangars, toy UFOs, kites, four boxes of books from another library, a printer, a calendar (even more useless as it was last year's), perfume and scented bath oils.

Even Dave and Rudy thought it was a bit much. But Rudy tried lightening it up, suggesting to Tee, "Hey, the juicer, the toaster, they could be our wedding presents. My parents got a toaster for their wedding." Then he sighed and his smile faded, "I wonder what happened to them. I last saw them at Easter before I went back to college. I lived in Edinburgh, so I hope they got away."

Neil also looked upset for a moment and murmured, "I lived with my grandparents. They were so proud when I got into college. So killing that little girl's grandmother felt dreadful to me."

Elektra simply snapped, "So why did you do it?"

For once, Neil wasn't going to hit her. "Because she'd have been an extra mouth to feed. We didn't need an old woman."

Then May-Li asked, "So why did Rhodes let Father James live?"

It was true. Father James was given his own room, which he never left, not hurt at all.

"Because," Neil told her as if she was stupid, "he's our evidence. If anyone finds us – and I'm sure they will soon, at least within some years – he can say that we are legally married. Besides, it could even out the numbers of men and women."

"I think I'm going to be sick." Tee gabbled.

In the Faroe Islands, Mike was frowning. Twelve hours of gruelling exercise, he was almost ready to attack.

He'd been getting a lot of training, as well as the ability to fire a rifle. But he knew he had to take a break soon.

Now he knew why army boys liked a drink out.

He'd get there. Very soon.

The other day, he'd dreamt about the mansion. He'd heard someone calling to him.

Frank. Bailey.

The boys had been by the gate, smiling at him. Then the gate had evaporated into a different gate and the boys went through.

Mike knew the boys had been with him, when he woke. He just _knew_.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

 **Day Four Hundred and Ninety-Eight**

Mike was ready.

In his camouflage army uniform, with a green-grey helmet and the rifle, he stood on the deck of the boat that the army had got. It was a rickety old thing from the war, but it was in good shape and just as useful.

The night before, he had met with Ryan, Tyler and Mo. He'd told them he was going to get the girls. They'd had a tearful hug, before Tyler telling him he loved him.

All three boys, between the tears, had told Mike he was the closest thing to a father they had.

But Mike had made the army promise that if he didn't return, they would take care of the boys and any of the girls he rescued.

By that, he meant the army would give them compensation when they turned eighteen, of at least twenty thousand each.

He and some other soldiers, all that the UN had managed to spare, half from Faroe, had got on the boat and were heading off. All twenty-six of them.

But Mike didn't care. All he wanted was to save these girls.

At the mansion, Tee and the others had come over for more supplies. Rhodes had reacted in a different way to the looting. He'd been angry as well, but instead of telling them to get more useful things, he said to give some to the mansion.

He said maybe if they got more gardening tools then they could grow more plants. The crops in nearby fields were now growing again, even in the October weather. The books Theo had did give some idea as to how to make bread with the right equipment, so Rhodes suggested maybe giving options out.

Tee now heard Rhodes talking to Theo and Will in the study.

"It's getting too slow," Rhodes was demanding, "we need to. Quickly."

Will had mumbled, "Sir, really?"

Rhodes almost shouted, "It's just too long! Two children in a year and a half? We need to get going. The rules are that we won't stop until either they've had ten or twelve children or they reach the menopause. We need that idiot priest to get us going in two days. That's all we're allowing."

Theo asked Rhodes, "But why? They're just children. The little one, she's not even fourteen yet. Plus, what about Daisy?"

Rhodes groaned slightly. He'd obvious gone through that before.

"Sister," he said in a mocking tone, "Daisy is too impertinent. She absolutely refuses to go through with any commitment whatsoever. Plus, there's some legal stuff that we can't do when we don't have a proper government. Theo, you take the one with the long ponytail, Will, you take the dirty blonde one."

Tee could hardly believe it as she walked away, not really taking in what was going on.

Rhodes was marrying off Jody and Britney!

His ideas of being the father of a new nation were getting too out of hand. What next? She had a vision of Harry as a gangly, spotty teen, being forced to choose between the girls. Or being threatened if he didn't.

Ten or twelve kids each...she worked the maths out in her head.

If each of the girls had ten children each, that would be...between 140 and 154 children. She wasn't sure if that included Anthony.

A chill went down her spine.

Now, Rhodes would probably plan _their_ relationships as well, so 140 divided by two, that was seventy – times ten would be...

They'd end up, in sixty years' time, having between seven hundred and nine hundred and seventeen children.

No wonder Rhodes called himself the father of a nation.

Tee didn't know whether she should tell the girls. They were going to hear, anyway. She didn't know what to do.

Mike was sitting in the cafeteria area, getting his strength up. After a year and a half, he'd finally be back. He'd help the girls. He'd get them safe.

The officer told him, sitting by him, "We got some small army groups on the radio. They've finally sent the army in to look. About time, too. A few groups are at the River Forth, some on the Thames and the Severn, but almost no-one has been picked up in just over a year. It's a disgrace."

Mike nodded. "Why didn't the UN help?"

The officer shrugged, taking a swig of his drink, "Thought that they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between survivors and infected? A few countries – not saying any names – stated that it would be better to let them all perish than risk an infected coming to their country."

He sighed and his deep eyes closed for a minute. Mike thought the man was going to cry. But he went on, "That view is also held by a lot of people, so they stopped shopping in a lot of places – Save the Children, UNICEF, places like that. It hurt people at home as well as abroad, unfortunately. Problem is, the governments aren't doing anything about either the infection or helping people stranded. If they don't take control of the infection problem, it could spread beyond Britain."

Mike asked, "I thought every infected had died out."

The officer answered quietly, "Well, they don't want to risk it. They – that's my superiors and other people outside the army – say that it's dormant, just lying there. Then it'll attack, there or in another country. It'll be worse than any terrorism attack. So until a month ago, some boats at the edge, mostly near the Isle of Wight or Isle of Man, if they saw anyone, man, woman or child, they simply shot. Didn't care if they were infected. Argued that they were all from the same area, so they were all the same. The infection spread like wildfire and the fact is, unless anyone starts ravaging and raging, you can't tell if they're one of them or not."

Mike just licked his lips. He'd find the girls, no matter what. If _any_ of them were hurt in any way, he'd make sure the men got what they deserved.

 **Day Four Hundred and Ninety-Nine**

Rhodes gave the announcement at dinner. He stood up to his full height, with the candlesticks lit and curtains closed, possibly because he wanted a full dramatic effect, announcing,

"Everyone, I have important news. Tomorrow, we will have another wedding. Jody and Britney are to marry Theo and Will tomorrow afternoon."

Jody and Britney looked at each other with shock, horror and despair.

"The wedding will commence them as wives and they will move into Theo and Will's rooms. The rooms are small, so there will be single beds instead of doubles, but hopefully that will not be an issue."

May-Li was holding Jody close to her as the girl wailed loudly. Britney had her head in her hands, resting on the table.

Rhodes ignored them.

"Also, we will issue you with passports. Each passport will have room for the names of children you may have, up to twelve of them. Any couple who does not produce children _soon_ will not be allowed to share loot, have cooked meals or have wine from the cellar. That reminds me, we will also start brewing our own beer.

"The first couple to have four children will receive a bronze medal, the first couple to have eight children will receive a silver medal and the first couple to have twelve children will receive a gold medal. I copied this idea from Theo's history book on the first half of the twentieth century in Europe.

"The wedding will take place tomorrow afternoon. Since the bridal gowns are too big for the new brides, they will wear their night dresses."

That night, in front of full-length mirrors in one of the bedrooms, Jody and Britney stood in their outfits, looking miserable.

Jody wore the purple short-sleeved dress and Britney had a black one with no sleeves that was far too big for her.

Jody was sobbing, but she was trying so hard to keep it in. In a hoarse voice, she told May-Li, "I never knew what it would be like when I married. I didn't expect to marry a gay teacher."

May-Li held her close and told her, "Just let it all out." Jody wouldn't cease crying as she gripped onto May-Li.

Britney was sniffling and Maria hugged her. "I always thought Granny would give me away," Britney murmured into Maria's t-shirt, "this makes it worse."

None of them knew what to say.

In the briefing room on the ship, Mike sat with the other soldiers as the officer turned the projector on.

"OK, these are the men we aim to arrest and take back to the Faroe Islands." The officer announced, as photographs of the eleven men came up. Then one of Rhodes, from his college.

"White male, late forties, early fifties. The ringleader of these men."

Theo.

"White male, early twenties, sandy hair."

Will.

"White male, early twenties, dark brown hair."

James.

"White male, early twenties, black hair."

Neil.

"White male, early twenties, medium brown hair, known to be violent."

Schmuel.

"White male, early twenties, olive-skinned, black hair."

Rudy.

"White male, early twenties, long salt-and-pepper hair in dreadlocks."

Ewan.

"White male, early twenties, blonde hair, rather tall, about six foot, maybe taller."

Li Chang.

"White Asian male, early twenties, black hair, small, and I mean about five foot, guys. Don't try and injure him, we all need them back healthy otherwise we could get blamed."

Mike looked around and, as most of the soldiers were his height or taller, he could see why the officer said that.

Dave.

"White male, early twenties, dark brown or black hair. His records say one grandparent was of Caribbean origin, so he may appear mixed-race."

Leroy.

"Black male, early twenties, black hair."

Then the officer got some pictures taken from above the mansion.

"Now, we have spotted some other individuals at the mansion. They could be other captives, so try and take them alive. White female, late teens, early twenties, blonde hair, often in a plait. White female, early to mid twenties, medium brown hair. White female, definitely a minor, preteen or early teen, dark blonde or light brown hair. Black male, thirties. White female, nun, so hair colour is unknown. White male, infant, one to two years, brown hair. White Asian male, infant, between six months and one year."

He then turned to the soldiers. "This is a very dangerous mission. We do not know if the infected are still out there. We also have the very real issue of these eleven men. We do not know how they will react. We have to take a surprise attack. Rodgers, you take your fireteam and aim from the long garden. Sampson, Heigl, you go to the main entrance and break down the gate. Shang, you and your squad take the helicopter from above. Samone, you and your squad aim over the walls. Only, repeat, _only_ attack once Sampson and Heigl have managed to get through.

"Milligan, you and your fireteam go through the helicopter. Shang's squad will attack from the first floor, your fireteam will search for the captives. I will man the boat until your return."

Then he told them, "These are innocent civilians we are saving. They have been held here a long time and may be in fragile condition. We do not know how many there are but we are to save every last one!"

As Mike looked out the window after the briefing, he saw the pale green image of the land by the Cromarty Firth come into view. He braced himself, holding his gun tight.

He was going to save them.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The wedding took place at four that afternoon.

Jody and Britney stood by the altar (a bunch of boxes with a tablecloth on), with Father James behind it, muttering this was illegal and he had a choice he'd rather be a savage monster than allow this to children.

Jody and Britney looked hopelessly young. They looked more like children who'd put on their mother's clothes and heels, too big for them.

May-Li had tried, putting Jody's hair up in a twisted plait. Unfortunately, Jody looked like Princess Leia. Britney also had her matted hair loose, looking like she'd been attacked by a wild animal.

May-Li had cut the bottom of Jody's dress off, as it was too large. Britney nearly stumbled over hers.

Theo and Will were now walking down the aisle, with Rhodes sitting on a chair nearby, next to a very uncomfortable-looking Toni, swigging from a wine bottle.

Theo looked anxious, while Will was tired of this.

When the two girls were at the front of the aisle, Father James looked over at Rhodes and asked, "Is this _really_ necessary?"

Rhodes bluntly answered, "Well, if we don't, then we can't claim them as ours."

Father James looked almost sick. "I mean they're _children_! Don't you see you're just being a bully?"

Rhodes stood up, holding his bottle. "I don't think I need more of that." He answered, as if he was stating he didn't need any more chocolate.

Then he whistled.

The main doors swung open and Schmuel and Rudy had managed to pull Sister Daisy into the room.

She was battered, blood down her face, horrified, desperate. After being a punchbag for a month, she had had enough.

Rhodes looked Father James right in the eye.

"Marry them or the nun gets it."

Everyone watched with a mixture of horror and confusion.

Surely Rhodes wouldn't kill off a woman? Not while she was young and fertile?

Rhodes paced slowly around her after the boys threw her on the floor. He asked, not taking his eyes off her once, "Thing is, are you sure? I mean, you're a priest. You wouldn't want to let anyone die, would you? She's weak. Pitiful and weak. If she does die, I want everyone to see it. All the children. I don't anyone standing up to me."

Father James managed to stammer, "B-but she hasn't done anything!"

Rhodes nodded, quickly. "Exactly. If she's innocent, that makes it worse. Nobody should stand up to me."

Father James shook his head slowly.

"May God forgive you." He murmured, almost too low for anyone to hear.

May-Li was holding Elektra's hand. Faith had a hand to her mouth and the other on her swollen belly. Kazima and Carmen were close to tears. Tania was holding Anthony to her chest. Maria held Tee's hand. Jody and Britney looked weak. Even the men looked a bit off-colour.

Then Rhodes just went, "Have it your way."

Raising the bottle above his head, still with alcohol inside, he brought it down hard on Sister Daisy.

She screamed.

She screamed and screamed as he brought the bottle down again. And again. And again.

Glass and alcohol went everywhere as she fell to the ground. Again. And again.

Then Rhodes sat down, covered in blood, back in his seat.

"Go on," he gestured and then Father James, who had gone white, mumbled the lines out quickly against the stifled weeping and the babies crying, waited for the – forced – kisses and ran out.

The helicopter was just over the mansion now. Mike looked out.

He'd waited for this moment for so long. And he was terrified.

But he closed his eyes and took the rope down to the roof. Shang then looked him in the eye as soon as the last soldier came down.

"Right, everyone clear on what to do?"

Mike nodded.

"OK," Shang answered, "Go!"

Mike went to the window and climbed through with three others. Almost immediately, he heard shouting and gunshots across the garden.

Rhodes was just leaving the room when the shots rang out.

Then he demanded, "What's going on?"

Neil ran up to him from the window. "Soldiers, sir! They're shooting at us! We're being invaded!"

Rhodes turned to the women.

May-Li felt a glow of relief fill her, as she picked up Lee and soothed his crying. They were being rescued!

It had felt like forever since the men had dragged them out of bed and told them that they were the mothers of a new nation.

Now, she hoped her efforts had not been in vain.

Handing Lee to Carmen, not taking her eyes off Rhodes, she slowly began to walk up the aisle.

Then she managed to lift Rhodes' heavy shotgun off the floor, where it had been leaning against his chair.

"You kidnapped us," she told him in a low voice, her eyes fixated on him, "you locked us up, you abused us, you made us your slaves, your possessions. You were willing to let your boys assault children. It's not just because you went mad with the end of the world or with power. You didn't care about us. You wanted to keep your boys happy. You murdered to do that. Britney's grandmother was the only relative she had and you took her away from her. She was a twelve-year-old girl. You killed both nuns because you wanted your way.

"I have tried for as long as I remember, trying to prepare the children for the grown-up world. I didn't want them to see the cruelties of people. But when we came to you, we did. We were vulnerable, afraid and this was our only choice. I gave myself up for the girls every time you made us your boys' playthings.

"The worst part? You're the last figure of authority left in Britain. You didn't care. You thought the girls and I were the only women left in the world. You didn't slowly wait and see if we would start relationships. You made your boys into rapists. Boys, who at the start of the disaster, the worst thing they would have done to a girl was check her out in the classroom or on TV. I don't know if Neil chose the way to be as brutal as he is, but Elektra has been his battered wife, for lack of a better term, since this began. There has not been a _day_ when either Elektra or I have not been forced into sex.

"You didn't care how old any of us were. You only let Harry and Finn live because they can't fight. You only spared Floss, Toni and Billie because they're pre-pubescent. If you had your way – and I'm sure you would have – as soon as their periods began, you'd be marrying them off. Your word was law. If anyone was a threat, you'd take them out.

"We've been scared, crying and frankly, miserable. Because I gave myself for the girls so many times, I became pregnant first. I'd never swap Lee for anything, but you are an animal."

May-Li cocked the gun, before raising it.

Everyone watched, waiting, before she shot Rhodes in the leg.

He screamed and fell, by Sister Daisy.

May-Li then ran back to everyone else as they began leaving the room. Tee asked, "Why did you shoot his leg?"

"I'm not a monster – I want to give him a chance." She answered.

When Mike ran down the corridor, he had the three other soldiers following him, banging open each door and looking round, before saying they found no-one.

Mike saw, at the top of the stairs, James, looking confused and angry.

James stammered, "I-I'm not afraid of you!" but he was holding a handgun up, shaking.

Maybe it was that that gave him bad aim. Either way, he shot a soldier in the upper leg.

The other retaliated, shooting at James, his body slumping onto the stairs.

Mike didn't want to see that, but he knew they had to carry on. From the sound of gunfire, the soldiers were getting closer and closer to the mansion. He just hoped he could find the girls before it was too late.

In the front hall, the women stopped as they saw others approaching.

Neil, Schmuel, Li Chang and Will. Holding shotguns, armed to the teeth, with Schmuel holding a machete and Neil wielding a vicious-looking axe.

Neil snarled, grabbing Elektra with his other arm, his arm around her neck. She tried to prise his arm off her, but he was too tough.

"I'm not leaving without you, sweetheart," he told her, his eyes still on the others, "because we're gonna find a little place, just for ourselves."

He was now nearly out of the main door, before smiling a ghastly smile at the group. "Nice knowing ya."

Within five minutes, Neil had pulled Elektra around the back of the mansion, then began pushing her over the wall. Elektra was kicking at his face as he did this, but he hit her on the leg, then threw her over, before hoisting himself up.

Meanwhile, Mike was looking right through the mansion. A quick sound of gunfire from outside. Someone screaming.

But soon, he'd flung the kitchen door open. The soldiers went in, with him following.

"Found someone, Milligan!"

Mike went over and saw a skinny black man, looking absolutely terrified. "I don't recognise him," Mike told them, "what's your name?"

"My name is Father James, sir…" the man stammered, "I-I'm so sorry to tell you, but they forced me – they made me officially – marry the girls."

Mike's blood ran cold. "You mean-"

Father James nodded, sadly, "They said that if they're ever caught, they can prove they are legally married. It's a complete sham, of course, and I don't really think they did it legally, but please-"

Mike told him, "I answered." Then to the men, "Take him to the boat. _I'll_ finish what I should have done."

In the hurry to get out, the group had split up accidentally. Now May-Li, Carmen, Lee, Jody and Kazima were near the schoolroom.

Terrified the men may find them before the soldiers, May-Li had insisted on them hiding behind Theo's desk. When she made sure Carmen, still soothing Lee, and Jody had fitted under the desk, she and Kazima grabbed the heaviest books they could find.

Blood splattered against the window. Kazima, who witnessed it, felt sick. But they stood near enough to the door, ready.

Then the door burst open. To their relief, they saw Mike standing there, holding a shotgun steadily.

"Mike!" May-Li screamed, running toward him, arms outstretched, as she flung them around him. Then Carmen and Jody gingerly got out from under the desk, smiling when they saw Mike.

"Oh, Mike," May-Li tried holding back the tears, "we-we missed you- I – I –"

But Mike insisted, "We need to get out now." Then he noticed Lee, who was still silently weeping. "Who's that?" he asked, still with shock. They'd said there were babies here, but he'd never…

"Lee, my little Lee." May-Li took him back and smiled at him. "Say hello to Uncle Mike, Lee." Lee just put his tiny hand out and touched Mike's SAS jacket.

Mike asked, "Is he…"

May-Li nodded, as they began to leave the room, "I don't know the father."

Mike knew it wasn't the time to talk, but he was furious about this whole business.

As the sound of gunfire sounded into the lounge, Tee, Britney and Maria managed to get behind the sofa. Britney was weeping, her head in her hands. Maria, looking down from the top of the sofa, knelt down and held her close, brushing a hand through her hair.

While they were there, Tee whispered, "Why did they kill Sister Daisy? They'd already had sex."

Maria hissed, "I saw them handing her a pregnancy test earlier. I didn't put two and two together until he brought her in."

It was revolting. Simply because she wasn't carrying the men's generation, they'd got rid of her. Tee guessed that Rhodes thought of Daisy as a waste of supplies.

The door broke down. They froze.

"SAS!" a call came out. Searchlights.

Tee dared to look to the side of the sofa and saw some men dressed in army uniforms. But she was still too scared to come forward.

Then a soldier came round the back and shouted, "There's three women here, sir!"

Then they stood up, Britney still clinging onto Maria.

All were confused, startled by the lights, relieved.

Then the man who had first spoken came forward, talking into a walkie-talkie, as he checked round them.

"Three women found in lounging area; all white, one adult with blonde hair, one minor with blonde or brown hair, one possible minor with blonde or brown hair."

Then he asked Maria, "Are any of you in an unstable condition?" she shook her head and smiled for the first time in ages, not quite believing what was happening.

"Sorry, I don't understand?"

The soldier made it clearer. "Are any of you pregnant or have any broken limbs?"

Maria thought. "Me, I'm…not entirely sure if I'm pregnant, but the other girls definitely aren't."

"Are you sure?" he kindly replied.

Maria started to frown again. "This," she tapped Britney's shoulder, "girl was getting married when you broke in and the other one told me she was a virgin."

Tee was surprised; Maria's attitude had never been like this. Maybe it was the fact that freedom awaited her that made her stronger.

The soldier then answered, "OK, follow me to the copter."

Harry, Finn, Floss, Toni, Billie, Faith, Tania and Anthony were in Rhodes' office. Hiding behind the desk, Tania soothed her boy.

"Ssh, it's all right," she patted his back, "it'll stop."

Anthony whimpered into her shoulder, "No bang-bang!"

Tania told him, "Everything will be fine."

Harry felt a small pang of guilt and then handed Geoff over, whom he'd been holding quite a bit recently.

Tania mouthed a thank you to Harry, before putting Geoff's face near Anthony's.

"Look Anthony," she giggled, "it's a giraffe."

Anthony's tiny hand grabbed Geoff's neck and pulled him closer, nuzzling him to his face.

Then the door burst down. Anthony squealed again and a few others cried out.

"SAS!" a voice called. Then the man scanned a light through as others came in.

Two soldiers helped the younger children out, while another held out a hand towards Tania. "Do you want help, miss?" he asked, before Tania slowly stood up, then went right back to brushing Anthony's hair.

The man with the light talked into a walkie-talkie as he came up and everyone started coming out. "Eight people, two male, five female, one infant. One adult woman, white, brunette. One female, black, possibly a minor, from the looks of it, heavily pregnant.

"One male, white, blonde, a minor around twelve years. One male, white, brown-haired, a minor, around twelve years. One female, white, brunette, a minor, around twelve years.

"One female, white, brunette, a minor, around twelve years. The last two females are likely to be twins. One female, white, redhead, around ten years. One infant, white, likely male, around a year."

Then, as they left, he spoke into the walkie-talkie. "Does that count up everyone?"

The answer back was, "No, one short."

Elektra was already in the car, being driven down. While she had eyed the release, Neil had told her it was childlocked. She didn't want to risk it.

She thought about grabbing him or the wheel. They would crash, but she'd rather have that than be his slave. Besides, it was dark.

She asked him, "What's your plan?"

He answered, driving onto a country road, off the motorway, "Find somewhere. A house, a petrol station, just as long as I don't have to have prison. You're gonna be my little wife. The second you arrived I thought you looked hot. Plus, you've been reasonable so far.

"I don't care if I have any kids now. Nice, but when you're living alone in the war zone, it can be a burden. If I can, I'm making sure you're chained or tied to the radiator, day in, day out.

"I don't care if I have to live the rest of my life on the run, just as long as I can have whatever I want with you."

He really didn't care.

He just wanted a toy, not a wife.

This wasn't marriage; being married to an abusive animal wasn't marriage. It was inhumane.

At the mansion, the soldiers had arrested all the men they could find.

Dave and Leroy were in their room, Dave gunned down when he refused to surrender. Schmuel had slipped off the roof.

Will had also been gunned down, as he tried to escape.

Now, Li Chang, Rudy, Theo, Ewan, Leroy and Rhodes were in the helicopter, handcuffed. Theo was nearly weeping, Li Chang, Rudy, Ewan and Leroy looked defeated and Rhodes was furious, with his leg bandaged hastily and a million things going through his mind.

Some soldiers saluted as they flew off, to return for the rest of them on the next flight.

Everyone hugged Mike the instant they saw him. When he was holding the younger children close to him, he saw the three others.

Britney had a hand on her arm, Maria stood behind her, an arm around her shoulders. Tania held Anthony as he waved Geoff around.

May-Li, flustered, then began babbling, "Oh, Mike, these are Britney, Maria, Tania and Anthony."

Mike held out a hand and, flustered, told them, "Pleased to meet you."

Maria slowly extended a hand and shook it, before Mike turned back to everyone else. "We're going to the Faroe Islands, so we'll have about a day's worth of journey. There's some rooms set up and a hospital examination first thing."

His eyes then went over to Faith's belly, which was protruding out from under her yellow dress.

His face went pale, before he felt furious.

He'd tried so hard not to think about the abuse the girls might have suffered, but now that it was right in front of him…

He asked Faith, gently pressing a hand to her arm, "Are you OK?"

She nodded, then winced again.

Mike asked, "How far are you gone?"

"Eight months," she managed to wheeze, "but I'm getting a lot of contractions. I think I might give birth any day."

Mike asked, "Do you know who the father is?"

Faith shook her head wildly, both hands over her belly, "No idea. It's not Neil; he's only had Elektra, every day. She's suffered more than any of us."

Mike looked down at the ground as he thought of Elektra, being taken somewhere, by that violent man. He had no idea if they would go after her. In this weather, it was almost suicide.

As the car rumbled on, it soon turned a corner and stopped at a petrol station. Neil got out, took the axe from the boot of the car and walked up to the front door.

Elektra scrambled to the front and pulled as hard as he could at the driver's door. Smiling as it opened, she pulled herself through (although the dress made it difficult) and pulled herself close to the wet ground, rain splattering down on her back as she listened for his footsteps.

She heard fast, loud footsteps and him groaning.

She crawled round to the back of the car, where she saw him from behind. He'd put the axe against the car and was looking round quickly.

She knew it was now or never.

She lifted up the heavy axe, with some difficulty, then swung in as hard as she could onto his back. Neil screamed and fell to his knees, as she swung it again. And again.

As she stood over him, holding the axe firmly, she scowled, but inside, she was relieved and grateful that this man who had caused her so much pain was now gone.

Taking a breath as lightning lit up the area, she then stepped carefully round to the driver's seat, turned the key and set off, barely remembering to lock it.

At the mansion, the helicopter had arrived. Everyone managed to get in, though Faith's seatbelt was adjusted. They even had two car seats for the babies. It was obvious the SAS had thought of everything.

Mike was in the cockpit, asking the pilot, "What about Elektra?"

The man shrugged. "Thing is, we have no idea where she is."

Mike frowned and then spoke very seriously, "I have done everything I can to get them. I am not leaving without her."

The pilot said something in his mouthpiece to the boat.

On board, Shang went into one of the holding cells, which used to be the sailors' quarters. He looked right at Rhodes and told him, firmly, "One of your boys is missing. Neil. Do you know where he may have gone? He has a hostage."

Rhodes smiled up at him and answered, "You are so stupid."

"Answer the question!" Shang barked.

Rhodes thought for a second, pointing his head upwards. "I think, as I suspect the pretty girl he took is Mandy Perkins, that he'd try and get to a nearby solitary location. A house or a barn. Try and sort a life for himself and the girl."

Shang nodded, thanked him and left, locking the door behind him.

The helicopter thankfully had enough fuel, so the pilot was dispatched three nearby locations that were on their own. Two barns and a petrol station.

The petrol station was first. As they scanned with a heat-tracking sensor, Mike's heart was pounding so hard, it was ringing in his ears.

Then they found something. The searchlight went on.

"Elektra Perkins?" the pilot called through a megaphone.

Elektra looked up and waved her arm around, the other still holding the blood-stained axe. She screamed, both to alert the pilot and with happiness.

She was finally leaving.

When everyone was on board the boat, they had to stop in Edinburgh for supplies. Tee had gone out for a walk, armed with a grenade in case any infected came up.

There, she found Johnny.

 **A/N: Well, I hope everyone enjoyed that chapter. There's a few more left but before I get to any trial I would like to do a chapter about how everyone who had already left in last three series coped in the eighteen months.**

 **Also, I'd like to say where I got some inspirations from.**

 **I got most of the plot from the British horror movie '28 Days Later', which some of you may already have guessed. While I did Rhodes in the style of the movie's villain, I later saw him as more of an evil version of Mike.**

 **I've tried not to do too many parallels with anything in real life, either present or in the last century, but I was slightly inspired by reading about how people survived natural disasters.**

 **I'd kind of like to know who and what you do and didn't like.**

 **By the way, Faith's going to have a little girl.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

 _Toby looked across as his foster parents held the door._

It had broken out in Sheffield earlier that day. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he assumed something was making these people rabid. It was like his comic books, when someone always had to come and shoot everyone.

Except this wasn't a comic book.

His foster father screamed at him, "Toby, go in the attic!" but the boy was paralyzed. Then an arm smashed during the window in the door and Toby took off, yelling.

The attic was really cramped, filled with old boxes, a mattress and a duvet. Toby looked through the window as he saw two infected people ravaging at the house. One of them had been Mr Patel. The other was a woman who he didn't know.

But they'd got his foster parents and were dragging them outside, tearing at them.

He couldn't bear to look. Shutting the blinds and locking the door, he waited in there for hours before he dared come down.

Looking in the kitchen, he saw the back door was wide open. Gingerly stepping over to lock it, he picked up the phone.

The emergency services were busy. That must mean it was bad.

He needed to think about what he could take up. They'd been shopping yesterday, to get things for his foster father's sister's birthday. She was still in Norwich but had planned to come up. Maybe this meant she would get away.

A few large bottles of fizzy drink, some hot chocolate sachets, cereal, mini apple pies, a few jumbo bags of chocolate bars – even though he didn't like one type – some cereal and yoghurt bars, a few packets of biscuits, a few milkshakes and some bottles of water.

Taking them all up to the attic, he stopped in his room and rummaged under his bed for a bar of chocolate he'd been hiding from his foster parents. He'd have said sorry now.

Bringing up three boxes of his comics, he waited up there.

He wasn't sure how long he was up there for, but he made the food last. Half a cereal and yoghurt bar for breakfast, two biscuits for lunch and a mini apple pie for tea. When that ran out after three weeks, he had two more biscuits for tea.

He got bored, dirty and scared quickly. He'd read his comics again and again. He'd got sleepy during the daytime and stay awake all night.

He wasn't sure how long it had been, except it was very hot outside, so it must be summer. He dared go downstairs.

It was dusty and strange. He smelt damp.

Toby glanced around and saw the window was open. How had none of the infected got in? Maybe because they hadn't seen him or thought he'd be there. Or maybe because they didn't notice.

Even so, this was his only option.

He felt much, much younger than his fifteen years as he packed a backpack with comics, some photos and some leftover food and water. Putting on his trainers and arming himself with a heavy spanner he'd found in the garage, he stepped out into the fresh, sweltering air.

He walked through the eerily quiet streets, nervously glancing round in case he saw anything unusual.

Soon, he came across some walls at the centre of town. There was a huge poster, saying that a ferry to Rotterdam was on June 4th, but he had no idea what day it was.

The next two days were spent sleeping in fields, constantly worried, jumping at every noise and hardly getting any sleep.

But soon, he managed to get himself, mostly by walking by motorways, to get to Hull. Or what _used_ to be Hull.

A small group of people, against the setting sun, were standing at a ferry dock. Toby managed to get through the crowd and asked a man by the front, "Where's the ferry going?"

The man looked down at him and answered, "Zeebrugge. There's a Red Cross camp just outside of it."

Toby looked through and saw that some men with shotguns were aiming them at the crowd, in case an infected came. The bridge was also very heavily guarded.

Nervously, he managed to get through the crowd, still mumbling and holding onto the spanner. A man stopped him and asked, "Name?"

"Toby Coleman." He managed to say. The guns were making him nervous.

"Age?"

"15, sir." He answered, quickly.

The man looked him up and down, not sure whether to believe him. Then he nodded towards the main ferry. "In."

The ferry left just ten minutes later. Toby was sitting in the lounge area, which was filled with men, women and children, all unhappy and some crying.

But soon, it was chugging away.

When they arrived at Zeebrugge, in the darkness, a horn blew from the ship as it docked.

Toby, along with the other survivors, were lined up at the iron gates with barbed wire. Toby saw the searchlights and the plain, one-storey cream-coloured buildings behind. It seemed more like a prison than a shelter.

He looked round at the other survivors. They were all miserable, both inside and out, in ripped or dirty clothes, mostly young, single adults on their own.

But he suddenly felt as if this wasn't exactly a safe place.

The building he lived in was filthy, the plumbing was abysmal, it was dark and cold, despite the heat outside.

Most of the signs were in French and the staff spoke French. There were guards with bulldogs walking around at all hours, they had to queue for up to an hour in the cafeteria, there was barely any room to move.

Toby had been placed in a children's section, but he was one of the oldest. The children either ran around at all hours or squealed loudly. He had to live in a sleeping bag and leave his clothes in there every day.

The few clothes they did have were donations from charities. They were mostly too small or hideous. But he did his best.

After six months, he finally saw what he looked like in the mirror, when some reporters were coming and the children were made to wash. The water was also the colour of weak hot chocolate when he had a bath.

The children were made to stand by the wire fence, while one journalist went slowly from right to left with a video camera and another took a few photos. One flashed right in Toby's face.

Most of the activities were dreadful as well. Making woollen clothes for brand companies, (none of which Toby wanted to buy from again) making licence plates and making fruit juice for brand companies (none of which Toby wanted to buy from again).

The hours were long and he often ended up in a sweat. Of course, this combined with the lack of baths meant that sometime in early spring the staff opened the doors and windows coughing from the stench.

After over a year in the refugee camp, he was told that a number of refugees were allowed to live in a house in Brussels. There, they would try and get jobs.

Toby had gone in a van, while angry Belgians banged on the sides. Toby didn't understand them, but he knew the Belgians were angry that they may be taking their jobs.

In fact, the only job he managed to get was as a cleaner at a bakery.

This wasn't fair! He'd been doing well at school and had been due to do his first GCSE exam in just a week when the disaster started. He'd been expected to get As and Bs. Now he was sweeping in a country where he didn't understand the language.

It just happened so quickly.

 _Rick had left the corner shop when he saw some wild people running down the street._

He'd heard of the riots in Sheffield, but was amazed it hit Blackpool after less than a week. Most of the people he knew hadn't shut the windows, saying it was a waste. But now he had these angry people on his tail.

Thankfully, he'd been buying food when this happened. Junk food, but better than nothing.

He spent nearly a month in a warehouse, going to sleep with the sound of gunfire. But the food ran low and he had to leave one night.

He walked endlessly around Blackpool, mostly targeting fish-and-chip shops. Soon, he slept on the pier in a hut where a rollercoaster had once been controlled. The sweltering summer heat meant that he had to get up sometimes to steal food, often from the seagulls.

He got pecked many times because of that.

One day in late July, he was considering whether he should have roast seagull, when he found one under the pier, when he heard a gun cock behind him.

He crouched, stock-still, as a man asked, "You bitten, boy?"

Rick managed to stammer in fear, "No."

Then the man told him, "Stand up slowly. Hands above your head. Turn."

Rick did so and he was looking into the face of a man anywhere between his thirties and sixties – it was hard to tell when he hadn't shaved and wore a greasy, grey shirt.

Behind him were two others, a woman in her forties, with a high ponytail and a young man about ten years older than Rick. All three looked tired, hungry and fed up.

The man asked, "What's your name?"

Rick managed to say his name, but his eyes didn't leave the shotgun barrel. The man told him, "What you doing here?"

Rick told them the only suitable answer he could think of. "I live on the pier."

The woman told the man, "Phillip, the boy looks weary. I don't think he's infected."

The man snarled, "You stay down, Betty, I can handle this."

Then he ordered Rick, "Take your clothes off."

Rick blinked for a second, stunned, before he asked, "W-what?!"

The man told him, "Prove you're not bitten. Take your clothes off or the last thing you'll see alive is a bullet in your mouth!"

Rick argued, "I'm not taking my clothes off!"

Phillip's eyes went narrow with anger. "I'm giving you until ten to take them off!"

Betty grabbed Phillip's arm, "Please, he's scared."

Rick then retaliated, "In the time we've been arguing, I'd have turned by now!"

Phillip seemed to understand the logic, lowering his gun.

"Sorry kid, I guess the whole thing's made me a bit cranky. I used to have a wife and kids in London. I left them at home when this broke out. The traffic jams were terrible. Most people were running through the streets. I didn't get home. My wife called me and said they were barricading in, but…"

His voice faltered and he looked down at the grimy sand. Betty rubbed a hand on his back, before she told Rick, "Come on, follow us."

Rick asked, "Shouldn't I get my stuff?"

The boy spoke for the first time, in a Scottish accent, "Just bring what you think is useful."

Within five minutes, Rick was in the bottom of a tugboat, a room with two sad-looking sofas, a coffee table and breakfast bar and a cupboard with the door hinges hanging off.

There were two blankets on one sofa, two on another. A sleeping bag lay on the floor. The boy sat down on the sleeping bag and pulled out half a packet of digestive biscuits, offering one to rick.

Rick thanked him and ate it, hungrily.

Betty explained that she'd come down from Glasgow with the boy, Marty, when their street was overrun. They'd heard of a ferry going to Ireland, but missed it by three hours. Now, they were hoping for another one.

They'd found a poster on a wall on the pier saying the next ferry was on August 9th, but no idea where it was going or even what the date was.

Still, they were scavenging here. Betty said there was only enough food for ten more days.

Rick had nowhere to sleep. So Betty handed him a blanket and let him sleep on the scratchy floorboards.

Still, the heat over the next few days was so unbearable that they had to open the windows at night. Bugs got in; flies of all sizes, spiders and a terrifying huge hornet.

But after the food had run out, Phillip ordered that they go out and look.

As he carried the shotgun and the others armed themselves with planks of wood, they carefully walked through the streets.

You could see the carnage as they stepped through the town centre. Doors left wide open, newspapers scattered around, cars parked in the middle of the road, tables at cafes upturned, blood – infected and otherwise – lying everywhere.

Invading a convenience store, they scoured the shelves. Rick choose a pack of four mini apple pies and a few packets of sweets, before coming back and seeing Betty had filled an entire shopping bag with chocolate bars and tinned fruit.

She argued, "Sadly, the healthy stuff doesn't last long. Well, we're getting peaches tonight!" she smiled at him, probably for the first time since this happened.

Four days later, they heard the ferry horn while they were in the tugboat. Rushing out, they saw it in the distance. Still armed, they went up to the docklands. About thirty people were also there, eager.

Guards held guns at the crowd while letting on one person at a time.

Phillip shouted when the guards tried to take his gun, but they were told it was for protection.

When everyone was let on, it set off.

For fifteen hours, they were in the room in the ferry, feeling more like cattle or prisoners than refugees.

When they stopped, Rick had no idea where they were, except it was hot and even worse than Blackpool.

They were herded to some walls with barbed wire on top, in what used to be a resort.

They were separated into groups of three. Rick was sent with a teenage girl and a middle-aged man to a villa. About six other people were there already, with four beds.

Some shared beds, but in the weather, it was better to sleep on the stone floors.

Soon, he learnt he was near Santander, Spain. This was a refugee camp, an asylum. They were asylum seekers.

There were other refugee camps, mostly old holiday camps or prisons, across Western Europe. There were two in Spain; here and near Bilbao. Jersey had one.

France had nine, near St-Malo, Cherbourg, Caen, Calais, Gravelines, Roscoff, Granville, Barnville-Carteret and Flamanville. Belgium had one near Zeebrugge. The Netherlands had two near Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Ibiza had two, as did Mallorca.

Ireland had two, near Dublin and in County Wexford. Northern Ireland had one near Belfast.

The Isle of Man and the Isle of Wight had one each.

They were to keep the refugees safe, but as expected, the locals complained about tax money and jobs going to them. Others were sympathetic about what happened, however, so they helped fund the asylums.

Rick didn't want to call them that, however.

So he took part in the daily activities.

They tried growing some food in the grounds of the resort. Some carrots, onions and tomatoes. But it was tough because sometimes the guards stole them to brand companies.

By October, Rick was given the job in the villa of cleaning the toilet. However, with all the diarrhoea, it was filthy. Other villas had it worse though; since it was made into an asylum, the water was cut off and they'd drunk the pool water long ago. Since all they got was a water pump and small glasses, illness was common and to make it worse, the toilets in some villas didn't flush.

There was diarrhoea and sick everywhere.

Just before Christmas, the Red Cross arrived and food parcels were given out, three to a villa. Rick couldn't believe that he had gotten chocolate! His share included four squares of plain chocolate, two figs, half an orange and half a bottle of water.

In April, almost a year after the disaster, Rick could often walk around the dried, yellow grass (it was yellow from the lack of a sprinkler system and little rain) and saw other refugees with bloated stomachs or boils. Most were in pain.

Three days of the week were spent working. Men had to make furniture and licence plates, women had to mend or make clothes, children over ten had to help make meals for brand companies. It was disgusting, Rick thought, that these meals were being prepared and these children were almost starving.

Now and again, a bunch of racists could come to the walls of the camp and swear at them and throw garbage over the walls at them, telling them that they were wasting their money. Rick tried his best to ignore them.

In July, the doors opened and some green trucks came in. All four hundred of the refugees stood at the entrance while the trucks stopped.

Then a small man in an army uniform stated that some refugees would be taken to a new life in Madrid. They would select the weakest of them to survive in the city.

Nine of ten, they took children under fifteen, but Rick pleaded to go. When a woman decided to stay with her children, Rick went in her place.

Driving for over four hours, they stopped near a busy market square at a house with green walls outside.

Rick was told that this was a safe house, to live away from fear.

He was so happy to be living somewhere where he could eat healthily and be free to do what he wanted.

It would take a very long time to adjust to normal life. But he hoped that when Britain was safe again, he would go back.

In August, he learnt from newspapers about the mansion. How Mike was pushing to the UN to get the girls free.

As soon as that happened, he put every cent he earned into charities for the UK.

 _Gus had actually been lucky._

One holiday in Japan at the time, his foster mothers found out when they watched the TV. Like other British in hotels nearby, they pleaded to stay.

After heavy arguments, the decision was they were to stay in whatever hotels or houses they were staying in, but not to leave.

It was horrible for Gus. He needed his routine. But he told himself that he could handle it.

It was utterly miserable at the hotel.

Some days, he couldn't even leave the room. He couldn't understand the expressions some of the staff gave him, but his foster mothers told him that it was pity from some and annoyance from others.

He also didn't understand the sign that one did with their hand except that Elektra had done it when she was very angry.

The hotel became a total pit when some staff refused to come up and clean the area. Gus wrote in his notebooks that the corridors smelt like urine and there was graffiti all over the walls.

He knew that some of them contained swear words, others were religious passages and one read something he didn't repeat, which meant it was really bad.

He heard people shouting all over the place. In another room, he heard glass breaking.

Even though it was bad, he told himself, in Britain it was overrun with savages. Some helicopters had taken an aerial view of a man in blood throwing a pipe at a group of four running people. A man was struck on the head and there was blood everywhere.

A little girl, only about six years old, stopped then, but the woman pulled her towards a boat.

The news reporter had said it was at the Thames Estuary. Gus thought that explained the fact it was polluted. He hoped the woman and the two girls were OK.

He longed for fresh food. The staff brought up groceries once a month, but a large basket was meant for a whole floor.

Gus had counted there were seven more people on his floor, three on the one above, four on the floor above that and six on the top floor. There were no rooms on the ground floor.

His foster mothers encouraged him to write everything down because they told him 'he may need it'.

He learnt about what happened to the other residents sometime before Christmas, when he saw May-Li's photograph on the TV. He asked his foster mothers exactly what the girls were needed for, when they switched it off without a word.

When they thought Gus was sleeping that night, he heard them talking.

That they weren't sure whether he should see things like that. That they wanted to help him. That his condition meant he wouldn't understand.

Gus didn't like the fact that people thought he should constantly be protected because of the Asperger's. It made him sound as if he was always going to be a child. He wanted to grow up, but he also didn't want to.

In some ways, he was glad he wasn't what society considered 'normal'. Because he didn't _ever_ want to be like the boys in Tyler's class that were rude, violent and never did any work, or the boys that played so much sport or the ones that flunked their grades and swore.

In some ways, he had freedom.

In May, after 368 days in a hotel (not counting the twelve days beforehand), the UN said they wanted to move the guests.

At first, his foster mothers kept him out of the way, told him to 'dress more casually' and pretended they were sisters, begging Gus not to say the truth. When the strict-looking inspectors left, he asked why.

They said they didn't want history to repeat itself.

But he still didn't understand.

Two days later, all the English tourists went on a big coach to the coast, where they went on a large boat. It was basically going from one previous holiday place to another.

A week later, they landed on a sunny island. They were made to depart and told this was Midway Atoll, where they would live until 'further arrangements were made'.

Gus was one of six children; the third-oldest.

It was a previous World War Two site with countless seabirds and some old shipwrecks. Gus found these fascinating, but they all knew what life would be like here.

Due to the heat, Gus managed to wear more casual clothes, as they lived in the old buildings. A few guards were there as well, but they looked as miserable as the refugees.

Refugees from all over Japan and the Pacific Ocean were here. Gus heard from the guards that most of the refugee camps were in Europe, though a few were on Madagascar and some Indian Ocean islands.

Also, he learnt many more things, such as seventy-five per cent of trees on the island were not native, such as the ironwood trees from Australia.

Once a month, a boat for Hawaii would arrive and say that jobs were available in Hawaii or Polynesia. But to Gus' surprise, nobody wanted to go.

On the third visit, sometime in August, while Gus, as well as many other refugees, were picking up trash that washed up along the coast (the guards sent these off for recycling, so Gus felt as if he were doing a good job), he saw one of his foster mothers crying.

"What's the matter?" he asked, before she held him.

The other foster mother had been taken on the boat. Gus asked why she was crying, but she refused to answer.

When she was talking with another refugee, as they sat in the lounge area (four wicker chairs, a coffee table and a television made in Japan in 1998), another refugee asked his foster mother what the problem was.

"I just – it's so difficult, I just can't helping comparing the situations."

"What are you compare-"

"I think you _know_ what I'm comparing it to." His foster mother's voice grew deep and menacing. Gus looked up then and asked exactly what was going on.

His foster mother held his head in her hands, looked into his eyes and told him that she'd never let him leave.

Before she hugged him and Gus smelt seaweed in her hair. She was humming the eighties song, 'The Riddle'. She sometimes sung along to eighties music, back in Britain. Gus thought the song sounded like his brain.

They got a phone call a month later, which caused his foster mother to sink to the floor weeping in delight.

She just whispered and brushed a hand through his – incredibly – long and curly hair, "She's alive."

Gus raised an eyebrow. He didn't understand her.

A month later, a boat came with the UN. They were all to go and live in Hawaii. All refugees were going to live outside of asylums.

He'd never seen his foster mother look so relived. It was strange.

He knew what emotion she had.

 _The Kettles were in Dorset when it happened_.

Lilly's dad was taking them out to a fish-and-chip shop when they heard the news. The owners of the store said they needed to close, to cut off all the windows.

After wandering around, they eventually found the boarding house they were staying at was locked. The owners refused to let anyone else in. Lilly's dad begged them to at least allow the children in, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

The only help they were given was when the owners threw the Kettles' things from the second floor window.

Poppy and Rosie sniffled the whole way, asking about Matt and Christie. Lilly assured them, "Don't worry, we'll see them again." But she knew the reality.

The only place still open was the town's library. It was better than nothing.

Barricading in the back office for the next two weeks, the children cried constantly and the diet of two biscuits a day and two plastic cups of water from the office filter were definitely not helping.

The vast amount of books meant that Lilly read to them every night. But they still couldn't bear it.

The front of the library had huge, glass windows. So they couldn't risk going further than the secluded children's area at the back.

Night after night, Poppy and Rosie fell asleep on the beanbags, holding onto toy animals Matt and Christie had given them a few years ago.

Lilly just looked at them every night, wondering when this would end.

After two weeks, the food ran out. Their dad and two librarians left to see what food there was left in the town.

When they came back, they brought a number of pastries. They hadn't gone off yet, which was amazing.

It also meant they had to eat them all in the next few days, which made Poppy and Rosie _very_ happy.

After two more weeks, they were startled by the sound of an alarm going off. One of the librarians and Lilly went to the warehouse above the library to look.

A man was trying to break into a car. What used to be a middle-aged woman was shuffling after him, before running and attacking him, the alarm sounding throughout.

The infected had arrived in the town. They were dead.

Lilly didn't tell Poppy and Rosie this. The librarian told her, "It's best if they die without knowing. We don't want to scare them."

Lilly had wiped away tears before asking, "H-how long?"

The librarian assured her, "A week, I'd say. The food will run out then. Don't worry, everything will be fine."

But Lilly wasn't certain. She wanted Poppy and Rosie to live, even if she couldn't.

She tried the phone for the first time in ages. Just dial tone.

She rang the emergency services anyway. Throughout the static, she just cried and cried. She stated their address, though she doubted anyone could hear her.

"There's seven of us. Me, my dad, my little sisters…Poppy's only nine. Three librarians. They want to kill us. I don't know how."

She said this many times, but then she just turned the phone off. It wasn't working.

The week passed. Lilly waited every day. Sometimes she'd look and see her dad with Poppy or Rosie on his lap, reading to them.

Then she'd turn to a librarian and see them hunched over a desk or table, head in her hands or close to tears. She knew what they were planning.

After a week, the librarians told them, at the dinner table (the table in the teenage section), "Now, we have a little surprise. We found some chocolates in a tin and we think we should share them. There's seven, enough for each of us. Go on, choose."

Poppy cried out, smiling for the first time in ages, "I want the caramel one!"

The librarian told them, "Now, we take our chocolates in the study, you four take them in the children's section."

Lilly's dad looked suspicious. "Why?" he asked, voice faltering. Lilly quickly turned to face him, but before she could tell him, the librarians had left.

When they did, he looked at her and asked, "Lilly, is there something you want to tell me?"

She looked back at the chocolates. A strawberry one, an almond one, a caramel and white chocolate.

Taking the tin, she stormed to the bathroom and emptied them in the toilet. She pulled the flush several times, not even stopping when the water swirled.

Poppy and Rosie ran after her, shrieking.

But then Lilly shouted at them, "They were going to poison you!"

Lilly's dad asked her, as soon as Lilly slumped against the floor by the wall, "Is that what was bothering you?"

She nodded, wiping tears from her face. "Yeah," she sniffed, "They said there's no hope."

Poppy and Rosie held hands and looked at her, not understanding.

Lilly held her arms out and embraced them, as their dad held them all close to his chest.

Next morning, Lilly's dad went into the back office. He didn't let Lilly in, but the look on his face was enough.

Six hours after he'd gone in, a van trawled up outside the library. Three men in gas masks came out.

Lilly's dad asked, "What do you want?"

One of them answered, "A week ago, we got a 999 call from here. It was very bad, but we managed to understand that some people wanted to kill minors."

Lilly's dad stammered, "H-how come it took you so long?"

Another man answered, "The emergency services are chaotic at the moment. Masts brought down, huge parts of the country losing electricity, it's a wreck. We knew this was somewhere in Dorset, but aside from that, we had no idea. You're lucky we found you in time. We've been going over the county looking for survivors."

The four went in the van, where some other scared survivors were sitting. One man had his leg in plaster. A girl was suffering from vitamin deficiency.

They were told that after a check-up, they would be sent on the first flight out of the country. Even they didn't know where.

All Lilly hoped was that it wouldn't be too hot.

But the next day, they were at the airport as the plane began to land. Her ears hurting, Lilly went aboard, buckling in her sisters next to her. Rosie had argued that she wanted the window seat.

As they flew up, Poppy and Rosie waved goodbye to the many patchwork fields below. Lilly breathed deeply, knowing that they may never come back again. But as long as they were together, she didn't mind.

After fifteen hours, three movies and two weird-looking meals, they landed.

Lilly's eyes fluttered open as the announcement began.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have arrived in Rio de Janeiro. If you could open all the windows and place your trays in the upright positions, we will be landing soon."

Lilly looked out of the window. Despite her body clock telling her it was only around seven in the evening, it looked really bright outside. She worked out it must be only about three.

When they landed in the sweltering sun, the crew gave out sunhats and sunscreen to everyone, before they were all hustled off the plane to a waiting Red Cross vehicle.

They were taken off to a brightly-coloured skyscraper in the middle of the city. While Lilly liked looking over the city, she just couldn't help feeling dreadful.

Sometime in September, she learnt about what had happened. She'd tried to keep her friends out of her head, but now it was difficult.

Knowing what could have happened to her and her sisters.

She'd give money, but it was tough anyway.

Her dad was lucky to get a part-time job at a DVD store. She went out for hours every day with a shoeshine kit.

The other shoeshine kids all sneered at her for taking their money. She argued eventually in what little Portuguese she learnt.

But by Christmas (and in a country like Brazil, Christmas is a big thing) she made one of them happy when she brought them a pair of shoes from what money she had left over.

For another nine months, she'd been delivering things as well as shoe-shining. Almost an adult now, she knew she shouldn't depend on her dad for everything. It was bad enough that Poppy and Rosie went to a charity school where everything was in Portuguese.

But the UN were saying that they were finding better accommodation for them. That they'd move into a house in the suburbs or the country. Lilly didn't care. Just as long as they were together.

 _Lizanne had been working at the hairdresser's when news broke out_.

Working part-time, she'd seen the infected rush into the shop.

Hiding herself in a cupboard, she saw through the keyhole. One was attacking the manager, the other was chasing some customers out. Her co-worker, Cheyenne, had run up the stairs.

Lizanne slumped to the floor and didn't make a sound.

She stayed there nearly twenty-four hours, before she decided it was safe to come out. All she heard were the faint sounds of dogs barking.

She pocketed the sweets in the bowl at the counter, took the money from the till and a few things from the office fridge, before going out, armed with shampoos and conditioners.

After three days' wandering around, hiding in trees and foraging in stores, she came to a park, very near where Burnywood had been.

She looked behind one of the patches of trees and saw a pink t-shirt.

Crouched in a ball on the ground was Kitty.

"Kitty?" Lizanne asked, going up to her. The girl looked up. She had dirt all over her face and in her hair. Lizanne didn't even want to think about what could have happened.

"Kitty, you need to come with me." She reassured her. Kitty looked round, desperate. But then she slowly stood up. She still refused to let Lizanne touch her, though. They went back to the bakery where Lizanne had already set up camp, but she refused to sleep.

Two days later, Lizanne started towards Burnywood. Kitty held grabbed her hand and shook her head wildly. Lizanne assured her, "Listen, you can stay underneath the car out there. I checked it, don't be afraid."

It still took a lot for Kitty to do so, however.

When Lizanne went in, her eyes widened. There was a pool of blood about ten feet in diameter soaked into the carpet.

She opened the office door and nearly screamed.

What had been Denis lay on the chair.

Still, she took some food and made her way out.

As they left, Lizanne thought about Burnywood's regime; they'd lock the children in their rooms when things got really bad, though Lizanne suspected this was illegal. It would have meant, since she saw a trail of dried blood outside some of the rooms, that the infected probably got in through the second-floor balcony via the window.

The children would have had no chance.

Lizanne didn't want to think about it.

Kitty must be the only survivor. Who knew what she'd seen.

Soon, they saw a green army truck hurtling through. Lizanne and Kitty hid behind some bins while they saw men with gas masks come out. Inside the truck, they could just make out some scared men, women and children.

Lizanne stood up slowly, then as the soldiers came over, she gestured for Kitty to do the same.

The soldier asked, "Names and ages?"

"Lizanne, I'm nineteen, this is Kitty, she's seventeen. Please, she's mentally disabled, she needs to stay with me. She witnessed everyone at her care home being ripped to pieces. She doesn't talk."

The soldier's expression was hard to work out, but he seemed to take this in. "OK, this way."

They had little choice.

After a check-up by some doctors (Kitty had to be anaesthetised for this) they were told they would go to either a refugee camp, probably on the Isle of Wight or Isle of Man, or on the next plane that landed. It didn't matter where the plane was headed.

They allowed the girls to share the same room and had listed that they should stay together, but this meant it was difficult.

It took three months for the both of them to finally get on a plane out of there. They left before dawn to go to Gatwick, along with five other people. They all applied for refugee status, which meant they may have to stay in an asylum. But Lizanne told herself that her new role in life was to protect Kitty.

She'd prove her mum proud.

When the plane took off, Kitty held herself in the recovery position. Lizanne tried reassuring her, but it was useless.

Kitty didn't move throughout the entire flight, just staring at a kid's movie and barely nibbling her in-flight meal. The doctors had said that Kitty was slightly underweight, which made Lizanne feel nervous.

When they stopped after twelve hours, Lizanne noticed it was hotter than it had been at home.

As she hadn't listened to the announcement, she had no idea where she was. Her only clues were that there were a lot of American accents and it was very hot.

A grey shuttle picked them up and they went forward through a busy town.

Lizanne dared to ask the driver, "Exactly where is this?"

He nearly laughed. "It's Texas, lil' lady! How'd you not know?"

Lizanne shrugged. "Didn't listen to the captain."

The safe-house was a bunch of suburban houses with wire fences. Since Burnywood used to have them, Lizanne didn't mind.

She had a view overlooking the street. There were trees lined up and she loved the old brickwork. The owner of the house, who visited every day to the ten refugees living there, told them it was in somewhere called North Richland Hills.

Since Lizanne had been a hairdresser, they were looking at maybe getting her a job in a salon. But she told them she needed to stay home for Kitty.

Kitty was a handful to care for by herself, so the house owner asked around for a specialist that wasn't too expensive.

But it was tough.

While some people were cheerful at her new place, she was told to fake a Texan accent or people would say she took their jobs.

But she still accidentally kept slipping and use English words.

By Christmas, she and Kitty were slightly better. Though Kitty had been a lot of hard work even before the disaster, now they were perking up.

Lizanne was trying to get into college. She asked if she could repeat the last two years of high school to try and get there. She refused any scholarship, saying it wasn't fair on others who really needed one and besides, she wanted to make the most out of her life.

She heard about what had happened to the residents sometime before Easter. Horrified, she saw that she actually had been lucky.

Though something bad happened just over a year after the disaster.

A van driver had come from somewhere in Texas and had been asking around, particularly towards the younger refugees.

He'd asked Lizanne how old she was and she'd snapped it at him. She knew this sort of guy.

He then offered the house owner six thousand dollars for Kitty and four other child refugees.

The house owner had spat at him and told him, using obscene words, to push off.

Three weeks later, Lizanne heard in the news of rumours of women and children from Britain being exploited, in the States, Canada, Germany and Ireland.

It made her heart break.

After eighteen months, she was told that the refugees could have their own places now. But she decided to stay.

After all really, Kitty needed her.

 **A/N: I hope you like this chapter. I'm thinking of doing one more and finishing the story. Writing Gus was easy because I'm quite similar to him.**

 **I got inspiration from** _ **Hotel Rwanda**_ **, about a hotel in the 1994 Rwandan civil war, as well as Rick's experience from** _ **Horrible Histories**_ **, about a boy in a Japanese camp. It's amazing what some people have managed to live through.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

 **Day Five Hundred and Two**

They docked in Torshavn around midday. Already, the news reporters had got news the 'tragedy of Britain' people had arrived and were swarming like wasps at the docks. The soldiers had to force them out, along with some of the island's police, but it still took forty minutes for the group to leave.

Tee looked around as she took in this new place. Would this be her home?

The men were taken to jails across the island, while they went to the police station to give statements.

They also had interpreters, but it was still awkward having to explain all of this to strangers.

Tee later learnt that the evidence she gave took up thirty-four pages. This case had a lot of evidence to give, mostly in statements.

Tee moved into this house where Ryan and Mo were living. She'd been overjoyed to see them again.

"How are you?" she'd asked them. Ryan shrugged.

"I'm OK. Oh, I speak Danish now."

Tee just kept on smiling. "Mo, you look so grown up."

Then Mo had told her, "Oh, happy birthday."

Tee's smile faded.

Mo carried on, "It was your birthday two days ago."

The day they were rescued. Tee hadn't noticed.

But, as she settled down to sleep that night, she just kept everything wash over her as she fell asleep. For the first time since she could remember, she fell asleep happy.

She woke up very late that night and saw the light was on downstairs. Going down, she saw what Ryan and Mo had been making with their foster mother.

A chocolate cake with blue icing spelling 'Tee' was there. She smiled at them wordlessly, before hugging the both of them.

 **Day Five Hundred and Thirty-Five**

Tee nervously stood outside her new school, with Ryan by her. This was one of the most nerving days she'd had.

Ryan smiled at her, "Don't worry, I know my way around. You'll be OK."

Tee smiled supportively, "All right."

She walked in, where Jody, Britney, Carmen and Kazima were already in the hall, on grey plastic chairs.

Tee had barely seen any of the others since arriving. She knew that Faith went into labour the day after they arrived, but she hardly knew about anyone else.

Faith had had a little girl, Anita. Tee had sent her love.

She'd also been told the trial date was set for six months' time. So far, they were getting DNA tests from Lee and Anita, to see who the fathers were. If they did that, they could give them separate charges.

Tee was working with some helpers at the school. They were helping them to understand the language, as well as to work out any difficulties.

Today, they were doing holidays and traditional celebrations. The ones here were closed connected to the ones in Scandinavia. Tee thought about what she'd be celebrating at Ashdene. Then she realised it was Bonfire Night that night.

She wondered if it would ever be celebrated again.

 **Day Five Hundred and Sixty-Four**

The tests were complete. Lee's father was Li Chang – which was rather unexpected as he hadn't normally wanted to be with May-Li, being a foot shorter than her – and Schmuel was Anita's father.

So it looked like there was enough evidence to charge Li Chang for rape separately from the other men.

 **Day Five Hundred and Eighty-Five**

Christmas.

Tee woke happily and with a start. She remembered two Christmases ago, back in Ashdene. It was cheerful then, a proper joyful atmosphere.

Now, she was a thousand miles north in a country she was a refugee in.

When she went downstairs, she realised. This was her first Christmas without Johnny. But he still called up – even though the cost was enormous – and wished her a happy Christmas.

The next day, the foster family took Ryan, Mo and Tee round to where the others were living. Mike was living with Elektra and Finn, in his apartment. Faith, May-Li and Tania were living with their children in accommodated housing for poor mothers.

Jody, Carmen and Kazima had gone to live with a couple in town, whilst Harry, Floss and the twins were living with the people Tyler had moved in with. Maria was living in an apartment with other young women.

When May-Li saw Tee, she embraced her, smiling, before telling her, "I've had a bit of a difficult time, but the staff here have been able to help me."

In the living room, Anthony and Lee were by a red-and-yellow alphabet learner, pressing the buttons resembling letters with pictures by them. As Anthony pressed a button, Lee then decided it would be a good idea to spoil his fun by crawling over it.

"Lee!" May-Li giggled, leaning down to his height, "That's not very nice."

But Lee just smiled back at her. Then May-Li turned to Tee with a frown on her face.

"What's wrong?" Tee asked her. May-Li sat down as she held Lee and answered.

"Somehow, Li Chang managed to send a Christmas card from prison. It said, 'Happy Christmas Lee, love Daddy'."

Tee made a face.

"He's disgusting," May-Li went on, "he just acted up when he realised Lee was his."

Then a thought came into Tee's head. "Are any of the men's families alive?"

May-Li told her what she knew.

"Schmuel's mother and brother are alive. They said they were horrified when they found out. Rhodes' sister is alive somewhere in Copenhagen, but I don't know what she thought of him. Neil's entire family are alive; they got to Liverpool to get to the Isle of Man just sixteen hours after the disaster. They said he always was a bit strange."

But Tee didn't want to dampen that wonderful day, so she just gave May-Li and Lee their presents before leaving.

 **Day Five Hundred and Ninety-Eight**

Britain was finally occupied by the UN.

The soldiers had gone in and hunted all the infected with heat-sensing equipment. Surprise, surprise, there were none left.

They'd rescued at least four million refugees in the southern counties alone, hiding in the strangest places, such as barns, treehouses, caravans, the backs of shops and offices, beach houses, public toilets and even a kennels.

One teenage boy had managed to live for over a year in the Yorkshire Dales in a car cover with tent pegs. When he was rescued, he barely remembered how to speak English.

Groups of up to ninety were found in basements, abandoned buildings, train carriages and restaurants. A group of forty-two were in a shopping centre, having pulled up the shutters down. They even had a garden in the multi-storey car park attached.

A group of four were found in a boarded-up basement in Gloucester. The oldest of them was twenty-four, the youngest not quite eight. They hadn't seen daylight for nearly eighteen months, living off dead birds, crisps and berries.

Some children rescued found it hard to sleep at night or even had table manners. The unlucky ones didn't speak English, or spoke incoherently, or slept on the floor.

It was horrendous what had happened here. It was estimated nearly a million people died only in the last six months.

Plenty of time for anyone to help.

Tee did what others were doing.

Trying to find out what happened to loved ones.

 **Day Six Hundred and Fifty-Seven**

Tee knew. She and everyone else had looked around and she knew.

Her mother and sister were still on the Isle of Jersey. They were actually quite happy, despite the circumstances.

But there were more unfortunate matters.

Mike had become utterly miserable because a number of people he had known were gone.

Justine had been trampled in a stampede, before being ripped apart by infected, only on the first day.

Sapphire had lived in a cabin at a dockyard for six months, before being rescued, but had lost both her legs.

Elaine had been left to die after being robbed and stabbed and was found a year later. Her only identification was her photo in her wallet.

Duke had died of pneumonia.

Melanie had got away, but contracted HIV in Amsterdam's Red Light District and was had been so badly beaten by the man who'd brought her over that she had two broken arms and her jaw was so bad that she couldn't talk properly.

Layla was missing, but presumed to be in Ireland, since she'd last been seen on an unreported boat to Dublin. Also missing with her were six other young women, two boys and four girls.

Gina had flown to the Caribbean almost immediately, but had still spent twelve days after the disaster living in a shop before getting a ferry to the Isle of Wight.

Tracy had been lucky for three months, ending up in an attic. But the twenty people who'd also been with her testified that she fell from a cliff while running to a ferry.

Liam and his brother were found together in his brother's car somewhere in the Highlands, run out of petrol. They'd frozen to death, holding each other's hands.

Most of the others he'd known were alive, as far away as Peru and New Zealand. But it was just tough for him.

Tee had seen Mike in an absolute state at the offices in Faroe, where those on Faroe had gone to learn from databases administered by the UN.

He'd never cried in front of the children, but Tee felt as if she needed to hug him as he did so.

She realised exactly how lucky she had been to be alive.

Families had been split up, children orphaned. Before the disaster, there had been sixty-four point one million people in the UK. When Britain was occupied, there were only fifteen million survivors. Thirty million had managed to escape to other countries. Approximately eleven million had been infected.

In some villages and towns, the UN found barely any survivors at all. In a village in East Sussex, only five people remained. In one near the border, in Northumbria, only three were left, along with two dogs.

In four villages, there weren't any survivors at all.

Now mass burials were taking place at numerous places of worship. Over five hundred were in Westminster Abbey, simply brought in from nearby buildings.

Names were logged on websites under villages and towns, often by street in the larger ones. There was no doubt that this was the worst disaster to hit Europe since the Second World War.

Tee saw on the internet that an enquiry was going to be held in the UN summit about the outbreak and what went wrong. But before then, she'd have to face Rhodes and the men.

 **Day Six Hundred and Eighty-Six**

Trial day.

Tee was so scared that she'd agreed to give evidence via video-link, as did Jody, Carmen, Elektra, Harry and Finn.

Mike said he'd go there himself, to 'see those miserable cowards'.

Apparently, there had been shouting throughout the entire first day.

Theo had stammered, when questioned, "The thing is, I-I never w-wanted to marry…"

"You thick fairy!" Rudy had snapped at him. Before everyone was shouting and the judges ordered silence.

Tee held her head high as she said what had happened. She wasn't going to allow them to beat her down. She was stronger than that.

 **Day Six Hundred and Ninety-Eight**

The jury had reached a decision.

The men were found guilty on all charges; seventeen counts of kidnap, three counts of murder, forty counts of rape, four counts of attempted murder, sixteen counts of theft of property, eight counts of illegal marriage and two counts of attempted illegal marriage.

All were to spend the remainder of their lives in high-security prisons on the continent. Rhodes was to be in maximum security, all but Theo in varied levels of security. Theo was in a minimum-security prison, as he was considered a low threat.

His community service was to help type up textbooks.

Li Chang would also earn not only five cents an hour, but if he were ever to be considered for parole (he, Leroy and Theo would be considered for parole in at least ten years) then at least ninety per cent of any money he earned would go to supporting Lee.

 **Day Seven Hundred**

Two days after the trial, Tee was sitting on a bench by the cliff edge.

This was her new life. She just had to accept it.

Everyone was moving round. Britney had been adopted by a couple in Germany, to which she was ecstatic about. She had spent the whole day hugging everyone and crying.

Tania and Maria were going to live with Tania's cousins in the States, taking Anthony with them.

She would grow up, have her own life, maybe write a book about this (as May-Li, Elektra and Tania were doing anyway) and perhaps some years from now be interviewed on some television programme as a survivor.

But now, as she stared across the blue ocean in the direction as what was Britain, she knew that she would never forget that terrible time.

 **A/N: OK, I've finished it.**

 **I really hope you've all enjoyed my stories, because this is actually a special one for me. I think it's my last.**

 **When I started this account way back in 2011, I was just a scared, young woman and a nervous wreck. Now, I see how much my stories matured since then and I'm partly leaving to expand to greater horizons.**

 **Like the Dumping Ground kids, I have to grow up and move on. Oddly enough, I'm far older than every kid actor in Tracy Beaker Returns or The Dumping Ground.**

 **I've done some manuscripts and I just want to get them out there. You may see my name one of these days, especially if you're reading this in and I've already done it. (I don't look** _ **that**_ **bad at 35, do I?)**

 **A small quick thing – if anyone out there reading this knows about** _ **anyone**_ **who's currently suffering in a similar way to the women and children in this story, tell the police immediately or via an anonymous hotline.**

 **So now you know.**

 **You might know my stories from the similar writing style or similar plots. I've tried to outdo every one of my stories with the next, but I think this one is my magnum opus of .**

 **Hey, maybe one day I'll say, 'I used to be on , the Dumping Ground section,' and you'll be thinking to yourself 'I knew it!'**

 **In some ways, I'm just like you – I eat, sleep, brush my teeth, watch a movie. I've been good and I've been bad in my 'wild years' when I was a kid. But the thing is, it's what you can do for others.**

 **One of the reasons I kept coming back here is because of my Bible Belt upbringing – the story with the 'talents'. I just wanted to entertain people.**

 **Anyway, now to say about what inspired me.**

 **Both Tracy Beaker Returns and The Dumping Ground were very inspirational for me, particularly since it's the closest thing to a sitcom that you can do with children and therefore limited hours and ideas. Even though I'm outside the target audience, I always found myself coming back to it.**

 **My stories were supernatural because I liked to put my own fears into things. I made my stories into thrillers because of the adrenaline. I liked taking these characters out of their natural environment and pushing them into scenarios.**

 **I never liked Bailey. End of.**

 **I let Mike live because, well, he dies more times than Kenny.**

 **Just telling you now.**

 **Goodbye.**


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